Quartie Ever After
by WildeAbrams
Summary: Following the high school graduation of her biological daughter Beth, Quinn Fabray approaches her best friend Artie Abrams with an unusual request (c. 2029). This story is an alternative time line from my other stories & assumes (most) everything that happened on the show though Dreams Come True is cannon, as well as the events of Artie and Quinn's friendship in Quartie Headconnon.
1. Regrets

Quartie Ever After

By Wilde Abrams

Rating: T

Characters: Quinn, Artie, Shelby C, Beth C, Mercedes, Brittany, Santana

Pairings: Quartie, mentions of past Quick, Tartie, Tike, and Kartie/Wildebrams

Summary: Following the high school graduation of her biological daughter Beth, Quinn Fabray approaches her best friend Artie Abrams with an unusual request. (Future Fic c. 2029)

Author's Notes: In commemoration of the two year anniversary of the publication of my first Glee story, I present to you something new and different. I know this is something kinda different than you'd expect from me, but inspiration struck. Wildebrams is my OTP, but I also like Quartie. Glee didn't give us either endgame, but it's fun to read and write about.

This story is an alternative time line from my other stories and assumes everything that happened on the show though Dreams Come True is cannon. It also accepts the events in Artie and Quinn's friendship described in my stand-alone story Quartie Headcannon.

# # # # # # #

Chapter 1: Regrets

By Wilde Abrams

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Quinn Fabray sat in the auditorium of Professional Performing Arts High School in New York as the daughter she had given birth to and given up for adoption walked across the stage at her high school graduation to receive her diploma.

Quinn had read online that PPAHS had been the Alma Mater of many students who later went on to become famous performers, including Alicia Keys, Max Ehrick and Britney Spears. It was no wonder that Beth's adoptive mother had chosen this school to send her daughter to.

On Quinn's left sat Shelby Corcoran, the women who had adopted Beth, and the only mother that the girl had known for most of her life, until only a few years ago. As frustrating as it had been for Quinn, not having her daughter in her life, this had been Quinn's own fault, and she had no one to blame but herself. Shelby had agreed to an open adoption, and had returned to Lima only about a year after Beth's adoption to give Quinn, and Noah Puckerman, Beth's biological father, the chance to be a part of her life, as well as try to reconnect with her own biological daughter, Quinn and Puck's classmate, Rachel Berry.

Unfortunately, both Quinn and Puck had betrayed her trust: Quinn had tried to paint Shelby as a bad mother to social services in an attempt to get custody back, and Puck had seduced Shelby in an attempt to get closer to Beth once he determined that Quinn was - in his words - "bat-shit crazy". In retrospect she had to admit that he'd had a point, but that didn't make the memory hurt any less.

At the time, Quinn had been going through a hard time in her life because of her continued tendency to measure her self worth by her relationships with the men in her life: her father, Finn, Puck, Finn again, Sam, Finn again, and Puck again. Over the summer between junior and senior years, after a sudden and final breakup with Finn, who once again chose Rachel Berry over her, Quinn had dyed her hair pink, started hanging out with the schools "girl gang" The Skanks, dating a much older man, and gotten a "tramp stamp" tattoo of Ryan Seacrest. When fall arrived, she hadn't come back to the Cheerios or the glee club.

But when Shelby had showed up at at McKinley one day, Puck had approached her and over the period of several days convinced her that the four of them had a chance to be a real family. She dyed her hair back to blonde, and the two of them had worked themselves into Shelby's good graces by babysitting and helping out with other things.

Quinn thought that Puck had really wanted to be with her, but when Quinn revealed her true intentions to win back custody, Puck had angrily revealed "I don't care about you, I care about her (Beth)!" In retrospect she didn't blame him, but the memory of that day still stung.

She later found out that he had been pretending to be going along with Quinn's plan, but secretly sabotaging it. Shortly thereafter he revealed that he'd been working on his own plan to get close to his daughter, and been sleeping with Shelby.

Quinn lashed out and planned to report Shelby for their inappropriate relationship, thus get her fired and possibly arrested, but Rachel Berry of all people convinced her not to, and for that she was infinitely grateful. It would have mostly hurt her daughter the most; as Shelby was getting out of teaching anyway, and had no intention of maintaining a relationship with Puck.

The consequences of their actions were that neither of them were allowed to see their daughter anymore. Quinn had been torturing herself ever since giving up Beth, and being completely cut off from her daughter again, after the brief reconnection, had torn her up inside. But, it had also sparked her to better herself, and launched her on the path to Yale and a successful future. So, in retrospect, it wasn't all bad.

This banishment from her daughter's life lasted about ten years, until Shelby finally reached out to Quinn when Beth began asking questions about her biological parents in middle school. Unfortunately, by this time Quinn and Puck were no longer speaking to each other, and he was in prison, so Quinn was the only parent to reconnect with the young girl.

During the years between, Quinn had graduated high school and moved onto college at Yale University where she proceeded to make the same mistakes with guys she had in high school. Within her first month she'd begun 'dating' one of her married professors, who had promised to leave his wife for her, but of course never did.

It was a Christmas visit from her friend Artie, where he told her about a very unusual dream he'd had, that had prompted her to end things with the professor. Artie had fallen down and out of his wheelchair while going up one of the accessibility ramps at school. The janitor had neglected to put salt on the ramp, and Artie did not have chains on his wheelchair. Quinn remembered the ramp he told her about from the several months when she had been confined to a wheelchair herself after her car accident senior year. She'd had difficulty with it in the spring. She could only imagine what it must have been like in the winter. He had slid backwards and sideways, and fallen completely out of his chair and been forced to lay there helplessly until some freshmen girls had happened along and helped him back up.

Their friend Finn Hudson had seen Artie with scrapes on his forehead and arms, and taken him to the nurse's office to get checked out, and the nurse had given him permission to go home for the day. While there, waiting for his mom to pick him up, he had vented to Finn about how frustrating it was being confined to a wheelchair, and wished that he had not been in his accident.

While he was laying there waiting for his mom to pick him up, Artie had fallen asleep and had a very realistic dream where Rory Flanagan, who had been a foreign exchange student during Quinn's senior year, had been his Guardian Angel and showed him what it would have been like if he had never been in his accident. In the dream Artie was a jock, and he, along with Finn and Puck had been bullies; Glee Club had never been restarted by Mr. Schue, who had become an alcoholic and still been married to that shrue of a woman Terri; and the most tragic at all, Quinn had still texted and driven that day, only this time Artie wasn't around to help motivate her to recover, and sadly Quinn herself had died of a broken heart.

As Artie described the dream she could tell how realistic it had been for him, and both of them were physically moved to tears. Quinn broke down and told Artie how her life had been going. Artie, the one person in Glee who had always genuinely missed her when she was gone and had always encouraged her, reminded her that she had more worth than to be the object if someone else's selfish needs.

That had given Quinn the drive to end the relationship, such as it was, when she returned to college after Christmas Break; and for a while Quinn focused on herself and her studies.

Unfortunately she still hadn't completely learned her lesson, and by spring she'd begun dating a man who was the epitome of privilege, Biff Mcintosh - heir to the Mcintosh Apple fortune. Once again she had convinced herself that if she managed to hook herself up to him, he would bring her into his world and she would have a happy future, such as had happened with her mother. But Biff had never really loved her for who she was. Surprisingly it was Puck who showed her how wrong for her that he was when they had all come back to say goodbye to the glee club when it was canceled the following spring.

It became clear that Puck had set his sights on her again, and he seemed to have matured since joining the Air Force after Finn's death, so she decided to give him yet another chance, and the two of them had decided to give their relationship a go again after that.

They lasted for just over a year before it became apparent that he hadn't really changed, and that they would never work long-term. It had really only lasted that long because they rarely saw each other on account of he being in the Air Force stationed in Texas, and she being in college in New England.

The final nail in the coffin of their relationship was when Puck had gone back to Ohio and hooked up with the mother of one of their friends at a wedding. She's had finals that week and just couldn't get away. Quinn and Puck had had a fight and he took advantage of her absence to return to his old cougar chasing ways. It was her friend Artie, who always seemed to have her back who had informed her of Puck's indiscretion complete with discreetly taken photographic evidence.

Over the years Quinn had dated many other men, some of whom she'd even convinced herself that she loved, but they all ended the same way, in heartache for her because she was never really there priority.

Eventually Quinn had completely disavowed her relationships with men and chosen to focus on her Quinn-dependence and career. Marriage and child rearing, once priorities were placed on the perpetual backburner.

Now, more than a decade and a half after graduating high school, Quinn was alone and single and childless. This was something that she tried not to think too much about, but at times like this it was hard not to. Quinn had once told Puck that their daughter was the one perfect thing she had ever done in her life; something that even she couldn't screw up, and it just killed her that they were not a part of her life all that time; and deep down she regretted not having any more children.

Providing the eggs for Kurt and Blaine's two children didn't count. She didn't carry and give birth to them, Rachel had; and she wasn't a part of their life any more than she was of Beth's, living on the opposite coast from them. She wanted to experience the entire childbirth and parenting process herself, but that was becoming less and less likely with each passing year.

# # # # #

Next to Quinn sat Artie Abrams. Artie had known Quinn Fabray most of his life. They had met as children, been separated when her family moved, and reconnected when they had been in high school glee club together. The two of them had become even closer when she he'd suffered a spinal injury, and been temporarily confined to a wheelchair during her senior year.

Like Quinn, Artie was single. Unlike her, Artie's dating life had been much more sporadic. He knew that the fact that he was in a wheelchair had a lot to do with that: most girls and women just weren't willing or able to look past it, or the 'inconvenience' that being with a man in a wheelchair would cause. In retrospect, he had to admit that his sometimes chauvinistic attitude during his younger years probably had a lot to do with it as well. As a result, Artie hadn't started dating until later than most other guys.

His first girlfriend had been his friend Tina Cohen-Chang, during their freshman year of high school, which had almost ended before it even started, thanks to the before mentioned chauvinistic attitude, and she revealing that her stutter was fake, but they had gotten past it and dated the rest of the year.

Over the summer Tina had attended Asian Camp with their glee club mate Mike Chang. Over the summer she had cheated on Artie with Mike and when she returned, she broke up with him and announced that she was in love with Mike whom she started dating. She blamed the whole thing on him supposedly ignoring her for weeks. For a long time he believed that himself and it was years before he accepted that while he should have paid more attention to her, that was still no excuse for her cheating on him.

The breakup with Tina had placed him in a deep funk, during which he joined the football team and began dating cheerleader Brittany Pierce, who it turned out was using him because she needed a duet partner, and to make her lesbian girlfriend Santana Lopez jealous.

When Artie had tried to back out, Brittany had decided to 'help' Artie get over his breakup by taking his virginity. The whole thing hard happened so fast that neither of them had taken the time to consider the repercussions of their actions. Afterword Artie had felt deeply used and ended their relationship.

Eventually the two of them had made up and dated for several more months before she had dumped him when, in a moment of frustration at her not seeing that Santana was manipulating her, he had called her stupid. He'd regretted it immediately, and gone to considerable effort to apologize to her, but it was too late. They had eventually become friends again, but it became obvious that Brittany's heart belonged to Santana. Eventually he'd made peace with what had happened, but he'd always carried the scar deep inside of him.

Several months later he'd become enamored with Sugar, the new girl in Glee, who, while tone deaf, was gorgeous. He chased her off and on for months, even though she was extremely ableist, because deep down inside he didn't think he could do any better. Eventually Sugar all but disappeared from Glee Club and Artie hooked up with wheelchair bound bitchy cheerleader from another school, Betty Pillsbury, at Mr. Schue's almost wedding on Valentine's Day Weekend of his senior year, as a rebound. But that only lasted a couple dates before she dumped him as well.

Towards the end of his Senior Year, he began dating another bitchy cheerleader in the person of Kitty Wilde, whom he'd had a growing attraction to, but he never thought would give him the time of day; and he hadn't seriously considered going after her because of his attachment to Sugar. But that all charged when she had noticed that he was upset about something one day, and then, once he told her what was bothering him, she conspired with his mom to give him the courage to go to college in New York despite his fears. A week later they began dating, and continued to do so through the end of the year.

But when he'd gone away to college, he did what he now regarded as the biggest mistake of his life: he'd broken up with her. Like Quinn, he'd viewed moving away to New York as a fresh start and decided that he didn't want to have anything or anyone at home holding him back. He'd managed to date a few women in college, but most turned out to be superficial and cold, and the relationships hadn't lasted very long, so he focused on his schoolwork.

When he returned to Lima to help relaunch the glee club at McKinley, he'd taken the opportunity to reconnect with Kitty, and the two had dated again for a while, but it wasn't the same. They had lasted for a while, but it ended again when she turned down a role in one of his films in favor of her own aspirations.

He'd ended up casting Tina in the role, and 7 years after their breakup they had agreed to try again. But once Mike came knocking, history repeated itself and she had dumped him like yesterday's take-out.

By then it was too late to reconcile with Kitty, and over time he grew apart from her. Over the years he dated other women off and on, but none of his 'relationships' - if they could even be called that - went anywhere; so, like Quinn, he had focused on his career and neglected his dating life. He'd always wanted kids, but it had become increasingly apparent that marriage and family weren't in the cards for him.

In the years since high school, Artie had attended the Brooklyn Film Academy, and gone on to become a moderately successful director. Quinn had gone to Yale University where she majored in drama and had gone on to become a moderately successful actress. When they reconnected in Los Angeles and worked together on several projects, the two of them had become close friends again.

Over time the two of them had spent a lot of time together both professionally and socially. Eventually they agreed to share an apartment in LA; and since neither of them had had a serious relationship in years, and barely dated, they tended to accompany each other to official Hollywood events that one or the other was invited to. Several tabloids had supposedly linked them romantically, but they were really never more then just close friends.

It had only felt natural for Artie to accompany Quinn to her daughter's high school graduation. After all, he had been friends with Quinn before the little girl was born, and he was proud that the little girl was finishing her primary education, and beginning to take her steps out into the world.

When the principal had formally presented The Class of 2029, most of the audience rose to their feet, and the auditorium erupted with applause, and cat calls.

# # # # #

Artie and Quinn had accompanied Beth, Shelby, Robert, Shelby's boyfriend; and a few other family friends to a congratulatory dinner after the graduation ceremony, before eventually returning to the hotel. Artie had made the necessary polite small talk that evening, and so had Quinn, but neither were really into the conversations, and Artie couldn't help but notice that Quinn seemed distracted most of the evening.

This behavior continued the following day, and all through the plane ride home that afternoon. He considered asking about it, but knew her well enough to know that if he pushed it she would become defensive, and that in all likelihood she would tell him what was on her mind when she was ready.

That evening, Quinn finally approached him. Artie had transferred out of his wheelchair and onto the nice firm couch in the living room, and was reading a script on his iPad when she came out and sat next to him. He had been so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't notice her come out of her bedroom and sit on the opposite end of the couch from him until she spoke.

"Artie," she began sheepishly, "I need a huge favor."

Artie and Quinn had been roommates for many years and friends for most of their lives. They were extremely casual and comfortable around each other, so Artie barely looked up from his script as he responded, "Sure Quinn, whatever you need," and took a swing of his bottled water.

"I need some of your sperm," she told him matter of factly.

Artie was so shocked by her words that he violently spit out the water he had just drank.

"Wait! What?" He asked her, turning to face her, not believing his ears.

"I need some of your sperm," she repeated casually, turning to meet his gaze.

"I'm confused," he told her.

"Artie," she began, "I'm thirty six years old. I never intended Beth to be my only child when I gave her up. I always expected to have at least one more someday. Attending Beth's graduation yesterday has really brought home the fact that I am getting older, and I only have just so many childbearing years left. I haven't had a serious relationship in years, and honestly, even if i had, none of my past relationships were really fatherly material.

"You and I have been such close friends for so long that you're one of the most important people in my life! And I've seen how you are around the kids on the movie sets and the kids of our friends and colleagues. I can just tell that you'll be an amazing dad! Plus, your dating life has been almost as barren as mine-"

"I go on dates," he told her defensively.

"Artie," she told him, "I'm sorry, but every single woman I have see you date in at least five years has been an aspiring actress hoping that you would cast her in one of your movies, and when it became apparent that you weren't going to, it ended."

"Point taken," Artie, conceded, reluctantly.

"In fact," Quinn continued, "I don't think you've had a serious relationship since Tina-"

"Quinn!" He barked involuntarily.

"Sorry," she said, genuinely, raising her hands in mock surrender. Clearly she had hit a nerve.

Artie had dated Tina Cohen-Chang during his freshmen year in high school. She had eventually dumped him for their glee club classmate, Mike Chang. Tina had dated Mike for two years and broke up with him after he graduated highschool and she didn't because long distance relationships were too hard. Tina had tried repeatedly to get back together with Mike, and when Mike had turned down her proposal, she had set her sights on Artie again, but he was with Kitty Wilde at the time. But that apparently didn't last.

Quinn didn't know the specific details of what happened after that. Several years later Artie and Tina had tried again, but history repeated itself and when Mike Chang decided he was interested in her again, Tina had dumped Artie like yesterday's take-out, and within a year she and Mike had gotten married and currently lived on the east coast and had three children of their own. As far as Quinn could tell, Artie had never completely gotten over it.

Artie had really only ever had one other serious relationship, Kitty Wilde, whom he had dated the first time towards the end of his senior year in high school and then a second time a couple years later. Quinn wasn't sure what had ultimately happened between the two of them, but Kitty was currently pursuing her stage career on the east coast as well.

Artie sat quietly taking this all in, and Quinn sat back and studied his body language as he did so. She could see that he was completely taken aback by this whole thing, and was clearly confused and conflicted. She supposed that she would be too if their roles were reversed. Finally after almost ten minutes he spoke.

"So," he began, "you're asking me to go to the sperm bank and make a donation?"

She gave him a rather confused look.

"I suppose you could do it that way," she answered, "But it seems rather clinical and impersonal, not to mention expensive. I just figured we'd do it the usual way…"

"But Quinn," he reminded her, "you and I are just friends. We aren't dating."

"But that's the beauty of it," she told him. "We aren't dating, and therefore we can avoid the usual relationship drama. If all I needed was some sperm I could get an anonymous donor from the sperm bank, but I don't want my child to not know who his or her dad is like Beth. You and I are so close, and have been such constant fixtures in each other's lives, that I'm sure that you will be in our lives for the rest of our lives. I also know more about you and your health history than I necessarily would with an anonymous donor.

"You know that I would do literally anything that I could for you. I would just really appreciate it if you would consider doing this for me. I also seem to remember you telling me that you wanted kids yourself, but hadn't met the right woman yet. This could be good for both of us," she finished.

He nodded, he really couldn't argue with her logic, and she'd clearly thought a great deal about this. No wonder she'd been so distracted lately.

"Look," she said, rising to her feet. "I know this is coming completely out of nowhere for you, and I don't expect an answer right away. All I ask is that you give it some serious thought before making a decision either way. I'm going to bed. It's been a long day. I'll talk to you more tomorrow."

# # # # #

That night Artie barely slept, even though he was completely exhausted from the plane ride.

Artie had known Quinn most of his life. Like everyone else, he'd nursed a crush on her when he was younger, but he had been very careful to hide it. He had long ago accepted his place in the friend zone with her and made peace with it.

But, he had to admit that a lot of what Quinn had said made sense; and truth be told, he was more than a little disappointed that he hadn't met anyone and had kids by now. Age was more of an issue with women, but he could still feel the clock ticking, and he really didn't want to be raising kids in his late 50's.

But one thing seriously worried him. In all of his experience, every time he had slept with a woman he had become more attached to her, even the ones that were not committed relationships; and he had a feeling that if he and Quinn slept together his feelings for her would surface again, and possibly endanger one of the closest relationships he had ever had. He wasn't sure if he wanted to risk that.

On the other hand, if he said no, he could seriously hurt her feelings, and if she went elsewhere for what she wanted, he had a feeling that he would be jealous of whomever the other man was, and have the same problem.

There didn't seem to be a clear cut answer.

# # # # #

Across the hall Quinn was also having trouble sleeping, despite what she had said earlier. When she had made the decision to approach Artie she was so certain that it was the right choice, but now she lay there wondering if she had changed their relationship forever.

In addition to being her roommate, and sometimes director, Artie was her best friend. She hadn't really seen Santana and Brittany in years, and only ran into Mercedes and Rachel occasionally. She hadn't really managed to bond that well with any of her actress acquaintances.

As much as she wanted another child, she began to have serious doubts about whether it was worth it to endanger her friendship with him. She was very torn.

# # # # #

The following morning Artie and Quinn ate breakfast in relative silence. She had an audition later that morning and he had a meeting with a producer about the script he had been reading the night before. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between the two of them not to mention what she had asked him for yet.

Later that day, Artie was very distracted and struggled to remain involved in the meeting. Fortunately this wasn't a one one one meeting so, it wasn't as noticeable. He'd used the voice recorder in his iPhone to record the meeting so he could play it back later and catch anything he missed or forgot about.

For her part, Quinn was so nervous that she completely blew the audition, but for once really didn't care.

# # # # #

Quinn was in the kitchen making dinner when Artie got home.

"Hey," he asked, "How was the audition?"

"Great," she lied, "I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a callback."

He smiled.

"How was your meeting?" She asked.

"Great," he also lied.

She smiled back.

"No," he said, "The truth is, I have no idea how the meeting went because I was so distracted. Ever since our conversation last night I haven't been able to think of anything else."

"Me either," she responded with relief, dropping the charade. "The truth is, I probably bombed the audition, for the same reason."

He nodded.

"Look, Artie, you're my best friend, and I would never want to pressure you into doing anything that you really didn't want to do, so why don't you tell me what you are thinking?" She asked. "Maybe I can help alleviate some of your concerns."

He sighed and noded.

"The truth is Quinn, a lot of what you said makes sense. I always thought that I would have settled down and started a family by now. As you pointed out, I haven't had that many serious relationships, and the few times that children have come up, I could tell that most of them were surprised that I wasn't sterile, or they had a hint of disgust at the even thought of it. I could tell that most of them could not see me as a lifelong partner and father to their children. Kitty and Tina were the only real exceptions there.

"But my biggest concern is that it will change our friendship. We've been friends for thirty years, and lately I've come to see you as my best friend."

Her heart swelled at the revelation that their friendship meant as much to him as it did to her.

"I'm sure it will, but in a good way," she told him. "I can't imagine it not helping us get closer than we already are. I didn't choose you randomly Artie. You're my best friend too, and the fact is, I am more comfortable with you than any other man in my life, past or present. I WANT to be closer to you."

Artie nodded, "I feel the same way. I guess I'm just afraid it will change things between us so much that it damages our friendship …" he didn't dare mention his old long buried crush.

"It won't," she said, looking him in the eye. "I promise."

He nodded his agreement, looked him in the eye and said, "Okay."

"Okay?..."

He nodded.

"Do you really mean it?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, smiling broader.

She smiled and leaned over enveloped him in a hug.

"You won't regret it!" She said.

He sincerely hoped that she was right.

# # # # # #

Author's Endnote: So what do you think? Let me know if you think I should continue in the reviews section.

[ minor text revisions 4/30/17 ]


	2. Confusion

Quartie Ever After

Chapter 2: Confusion

By Wilde Abrams

Author's Notes: Thank you everyone who liked, subscribed, and reviewed the first chapter of this story. It's gotten a much more favorable response than I imagined that it would, and I was honestly a bit apprehensive about releasing it. I didn't think that there would be that much interest in what was basically a dead ship. But I guess if RIB can resuscitate a dead cannon ship like Tartie, I can resuscitate one that was popular in fanfic but didn't have a real chance because RIB were too stubborn and closed minded.

DISCLAIMER: This chapter and the ones after it contain discussion about the specifics of adult sexual relationship. While it is not in any way considered 'smut' such discussion may make some readers uncomfortable, so be prepared for that.

Like all of my work, the thrust of the story is the emotional relationships, but I can not properly tell this story without delving into some of the specifics.

I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue!

# # # # # #

Following their conversation Quinn finished the meal she was preparing for the two of them, and afterwards they sat down in the living room and discussed some more specifics.

"So I guess we should agree on some things up front," she told him.

"That would be a good idea," he agreed, grinning.

"First of all," she asked, "while right now it seems unlikely that either of our living situations or relationship statuses are going to change significantly any time soon, 18 years is a long time. What role do you want to play in his child's life if one of us meets someone or moves?"

"Well, I'm the father of this child, and one us getting into a relationship would not change that," he told her. "I know that I had some reservations at first, but I'm all in now; even though we aren't together. That means I want my name on the birth certificate, either my last name or hyphenate the two if you prefer, and an an equal say everything. If we are no longer living together, I would want visitation. I think that's only fair."

She smiled, "Good, I'm glad. I was hoping you would say something like that. It's important to me that my child has a relationship with his or her dad. It really sucks that Beth never got that with Puck; but he made his own choices, and both of them have had to live with them. I was thinking hyphenating the last names, but we can discuss that in more detail later."

He nodded in agreement.

"That brings up the next thing" she continued. "What are we telling people about the paternity of the child. Both to our friends and family, and to the press. We know they are going to have a field day with this."

"Are they?" He asked. "People, including other celebrities, have children outside of marriage all the time. This isn't like it was 15 or 20 years ago. I say we just tell people the truth. That is, unless you're uncomfortable with people knowing that you slept with someone in a wheelchair," he joked.

"Don't be ridiculous," she laughed.

"I didn't think so," he told her, "but I figured I would put it out there."

She nodded, a little surprised that he would even think that if her, but set the thought aside.

"I don't know about your parents or sister," he continued, "but mine will probably be thrilled. Mom asks me about my relationship status every time we talk, and regularly reminds me that I'm not getting any younger; and that if I want kids, I had better act soon. Mom and dad love you. They always have, so I can't see them objecting."

She nodded, "Mom likes you as well. I'm mostly concerned about the older generation understanding of this."

He couldn't help noticing that she avoided mentioning her father. Russel Fabray had thrown his daughter out of the house when he'd learned that she was pregnant as a teenager, and her mom Judy had let him. That was when he'd thought that the child was Finn's. He'd liked Finn. When he'd found out that the child was really Noah Puckerman's, things had gone even more downhill between them. Eventually it had been revealed that Russell was a hypocrite, because had been having an affair behind their backs the whole time, and Judy had thrown him out and later divorced him.

While Quinn's relationship with her mom had recovered over time, the same was not true or her relationship with her father. They had eventually started talking again, after several years, but their relationship was still strained and distant. Quinn's sister Franny was several years older and had already gone away to college when Quinn had been thrown out so their relationship hadn't really been affected.

"It may be hard for them to understand at first, he told her, but they love us and will support us regardless," he assured her.

She smiled and responded, "You're right."

"As usual," he grinned. "And as for our friends and anyone else, the ones that matter will support us. Anyone who doesn't, apparently isn't as good of friends as we thought."

She leaned in and gave him a hug. "Thank you! I'm so glad you agreed to do this with me."

"I'm glad you asked me," he told her.

"What about financial costs?" She finally asked. "Having a baby and raising it are expensive." She'd been saving this potentially divisive topic until last.

"I'm well aware of that," he told her, smiling. "I'm willing to contribute whatever is needed. We both work in a field that is sometimes sporadic, but between the two of us, we should be fine."

She noded. That was a load off of her mind, and her biggest concern. She was a struggling actress, and right now he was making a much more steady paycheck then she was. She still hoped to make it big, or at least to the next level as a steadily working actress, but there was no telling when that was like to happen, or even for sure if it would. Hearing his unwavering pledge of financial support made her feel much better.

The two of them continued talking for a while longer about assorted things, and eventually it was agreed that the two of them would begin trying to get pregnant four days from then on Friday since neither of them had plans for the weekend.

# # # # # #

Over the next few days, Artie put his previous concerns aside and focused on the future. After their discussion about the specifics of their plan, this whole thing became suddenly very real.

By the time Friday morning came around, he was genuinely excited about the prospect of becoming a father. But as the day went on he began to get more and more nervous. He knew that Quinn had been with her share of guys - able bodied guys - and he was afraid he somehow wouldn't measure up in the bedroom. He knew that it shouldn't matter because they were only doing this to conceive a child, but for some reason it did.

# # # # # #

Quinn spent the next few days thinking of very little else other than the prospect of having a baby with the man she thought of as her best friend. When she thought about Artie, she smiled to herself. The two of them were so much more prepared to have a child now as when she and Puck had been back in high school. Back then it had come as such a shock that she has been pregnant, and she had just wanted for it to just be over with so the two of them could get back to their lives. Now she was excited for it to begin so they could embrace the new adventure of parenthood together.

But as Friday night approached, she began to get more and more apprehensive.

# # # # # #

After dinner Friday night, Artie went into his bedroom and spent a couple hours doing pre-production work on on his laptop for his next film. At around 8PM he went into the bathroom, and completed his nightly routine, and then returned to his room to wait for Quinn. They had agreed to do this in his room, because he had a special kind of mattress cover that helped him avoid pressure sores that could happen when his lower half didn't move for hours while he slept.

After dealing with the supper dishes, Quinn spent most of the evening trying to convince herself that she wasn't terrified of what was about to happen, while aimlessly flipping through channels on the television. This was real. They had really agreed to do this. What if it didn't work? It wasn't unheard of for people with spinal cord injuries to have impotence problems, or have problems conceiving children even if they didn't. Was she too old herself? What if she didn't like it? What of he didn't enjoy it as much as she did? He'd been with other women and no doubt had had many enjoyable encounters. She'd had her share but not as many as he probably thought. Did any of that even matter since they weren't actually together as a couple?

When she saw Artie roll out of the bathroom, she knew it was time for her own pre bedtime routine. She psyched herself up, setting her worries aside, and grabbed the stack of clothing she'd left sitting on her bed and headed into the bathroom.

She slipped out of her current clothing and stepped into the shower. As usual, Artie had made sure to leave her plenty of hot water. He was always very considerate that way. She scrubbed her body head to toe, and then stood there letting the warm water rush over her body as she started to psych herself up for what was planned for later.

When the water began to cool she stepped out of the shower and began to dry herself off. She slipped into the new yellow nightgown she'd bought for the occasion, and then began to do her hair and makeup. When she was finally finished, she examined her work with satisfaction in the mirror, and finally sprayed on some of her favorite perfume.

# # # # #

Artie was sitting on his bed, once again trying to read a script on his iPad. He'd re-read the same page four timed without really taking it in, when he heard a gentle knock on his door. He'd left the door partially ajar. He heard Quinn let herself in, and take her place on the vacant side of his queen sized bed.

He finished his page, still not remembering what it said, and set his iPad aside and turned to face her. It was only then that he realized the extent of her preparation for the evening. She was dressed in a satin yellow nightgown that he didn't think that he'd ever seen before. Her hair and makeup were done. Her bare legs were obviously freshly shaved, and she smelled faintly of strawberries, the perfume he knew she favored.

"Wow!" he said, a broad grin forming on his face, "You didn't have to go to all of that trouble for my benefit."

"I know," she told him, "but sometimes a woman just wants to feel sexy, ya know?"

He nodded.

The two of them turned on their sides and faced each other, taking each other in in.

Artie was dressed in a clean pair of blue boxer shorts, and a plain white tank top undershirt; his typical sleeping attire, Quinn knew. She could see his ample pecs under the shirt, the obvious result of years of pushing himself around in a wheelchair.

Quinn's satin nightgown was low cut, but tastefully so, and hugged her body in all of the right places. She was obviously not wearing a bra or panties underneath.

The two of them lay there grinning at each other like idiots for about five minutes before Quinn finally cleared her throat and broke the silence.

"So," she began, "we haven't really talked about the … mechanics … of how this is going to work."

"It will work best if you're on top," he told her, sheepishly. "I hope that's okay. Most women seem to enjoy-"

"That's fine," she told him. "I had assumed as much. I was thinking more along the lines of weather you needed any ... help. …" she gestured to his crotch.

He shook his head, understanding. "No. While I enjoy a little physical stimulation down there as much as the next guy, my injury isn't a total nerve disruption, so I am generally capable of becoming aroused without direct physical stimulation, just like any other guy."

She nodded, but didn't say anything else. He could tell that she was a little embarrassed.

"It's okay Quinn," he reassured her, "you don't need to feel embarrassed. If you have questions, please just ask."

"Thank you," she answered, smiling. "I think that about covers it though."

"Good," he responded.

"So what exactly is the protocol for having a baby with someone that you're not actually dating?" she wanted to know.

"I'm not sure there is one," he told her, "but if we are going to do this then we may as well enjoy it." She smiled and nodded as he continued. "I think it would be the most enjoyable for both of us if we approached it the same as any other encounter," he finished.

"I was hoping you would say that," she responded, leaning over and giving him a passionate kiss.

# # # # # #

Two hours later Quinn lay naked in bed with her sleeping best friend. Shortly after their sexual encounter - she refused to think of it as love making - Artie had dozed off.

But she lay there wide awake unable to sleep. She couldn't believe what had happened. Of all of the scenarios she'd come up with in her head, this had not even made the list.

She looked over at her dozing best friend and gave him a kiss on the cheek, hoping that they hadn't made a huge mistake, before crawling out of bed and heading for the door.

"You're leaving already?" she heard him ask behind her. She sighed inwardly. He'd been awake the whole time.

"I just have to use the bathroom," she reassured him, and walked out the door and over to the bathroom.

Once inside she stood in front of the sink and splashed some water on her face. "Get ahold of yourself, Fabray," she told herself. "He didn't seem offended. Maybe he didn't even notice?" But how could he not?

A few minutes later she walked back into his bedroom, crawled back into bed, and snuggled up next to him. Hopefully he hadn't noticed or at least wouldn't say anything.

# # # # # #

After Quinn and he had had sex, Artie had started to doze off. He'd felt good about the experience, not having been with a woman in several years. He'd genuinely enjoyed himself and Quinn appeared to have as well. It was nice sharing a bed with a woman, and having a warm body pressed against his. That was something that he hadn't had in a long time. The fact that it was someone that he cared deeply for made it so much better.

While she seemed to have enjoyed herself during the encounter itself, he couldn't help notice that she wasn't nearly as relaxed as he was afterwards. Quite the contrary; she seemed agitated and on edge. He wondered if she had enjoyed herself as much as he had. He reminded himself that she was an experienced actress, and he knew she could fake it if she wanted to. She tossed and turned until he felt her move away from him towards the door.

Great, just as he'd feared. He'd been so bad in bed that she couldn't wait to get away from him.

"You're leaving already?" He asked, almost desperate for it not to be true.

"I just have to use the bathroom," she responded, and walked out the door.

A few moments later she returned and snuggled up with him in bed, but somehow he wasn't reassured.

He managed to fall asleep about an hour later. When he woke up in the morning she was gone.

# # # # # #

The following day they went about their business as usual, and did their best to not think about what had happened, each hoping that it was just a fluke. He continued to work on prepping his movie script, and she went shopping.

But the following night had been a repeat of the first. The encounter had seemed to go well as far as he could tell, but she had been on edge again afterwards. Whatever was bothering her had happened once again, leaving both frustrated and confused. But neither was willing to talk about it for fear of discouraging the other.

This happened several more times over the next few days. But, by Wednesday he could no longer ignore it and worked up the courage to broach the subject with her.

She was sitting on the couch watching TV when he wheeled over to her.

"Quinn," he asked her sheepishly. "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure," she said turning her attention to him. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if everything was okay between us? I've noticed that you're kind of quiet after we have sex and I was wondering if there was anything wrong or anything that I could-"

"No," she responded. "Everything is fine." She took a deep breath and continued. "I've just been a little stressed lately about not landing any jobs, add to the fact that I guess I'm putting too much pressure on myself to actually conceive a child."

"You don't need to feel stressed about work," he assured her. "I know that you like working, but I make enough money to support both of us, and a child for the time being, if necessary. And, when you get pregnant, you'll have to take some time off working anyway. As for actually getting pregnant, don't worry so much! It'll happen when it happens."

She nodded and smiled. "You're right." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

But in the back of her head she was glad that he'd bought her excuses. She was way too embarrassed to tell him what was really on her mind.

Over the next several nights she continued to be distant after their sexual encounters, though she got better at hiding it.

# # # # # #

Friday morning, Quinn took her first pregnancy test. They had been trying for a week now, and she was starting to get excited. But when she took a look at the results she was disappointed to see the negative sign.

Artie beckoned her to him, pulling her into his lap, holding her in comfort. "It's okay," he told her, "We just started trying. It will happen when the time is right."

# # # # # #

Later that day Artie went off to have a meeting with his producer, Antonio to discuss some of the plans for the upcoming shoot. The next two weeks they would be working on casting during the day most days, and Artie would need to have meetings with, and his notes ready for, the production designers, set dressers, wardrobe, and prop people in between those sessions. To say that the next two weeks were going to be hectic was an understatement, but Artie loved it. It was his passion!

# # # # # #

While Artie was at his meeting, Quinn had lunch with Mercedes, who was in town for a few weeks recording for her next album.

"What up with you, girl," Mercedes asked from across the table at the restaurant. "How's life as an aspiring actress? Land any good parts lately?"

"Not much is up," Quinn told her, frustrated. "And honestly, i haven't landed anything really exciting in quite a while. I'm still going to auditions several times a week, but haven't had much luck getting anything but the occasional commercial or guest spot. Nothing really big yet."

"It'll happen for you," Mercedes reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're just gotta be patient. If you remember, I went through three producers before I found one that really understood, and respected my vision!"

"I know," Quinn told her with a forced smile. "Hopefully it will happen sooner than later though. I'm going to need some additional income soon."

Mercedes raised her eyebrow in reaction to the last comment, but said nothing.

"But in other news," she added, changing the subject, "Artie and I have decided to have a baby together."

"Wait? What?" Mercedes asked with a shocked look on her face. "When did Quartie happen, and why wasn't I informed sooner? So the tabloids got it right for once?" She glanced at her friend's hand which was sitting on the table. "I don't see a ring on your finger. I love Artie and all, but he better be giving you a ring-

"No, no, Mercedes," Quinn told her friend, holding up her hand to stop her friend mid sentence. "We aren't together in a relationship."

"I don't understand," her friend told her, a look of confusion on her face.

"We aren't dating," Quinn clarified, "let alone engaged. We're both just frustrated at our lack of luck in the relationship department, but both want kids and are getting to the age where we know that if we don't have them soon we never will."

"What brought this on?" Mercedes asked, genuinely concerned for her friends.

"Well," Quinn told her. "I've been feeling that way for a while now, but attending Beth's High school graduation kind of reality brought it home."

"Quinn," Mercedes pleaded with her. "You have a lot of time left-"

"I'm 36 years old Mercedes," Quinn told her. "As you get closer to 40, the possibility of complications or birth defects rises considerably. I haven't had a serious relationship in almost ten years, and I've barely dated the last five."

"So date Artie then!?" Mercedes pleaded with her. "You know that I don't believe in sex outside of marriage, and I know each of you crossed that bridge almost 20 years ago, but you should at least restrict it to the bonds of a committed relationship."

"Mercedes…."

"What? You'd make a cute couple! I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed the looks the two of you used to give each other in Glee Club-"

"What are you talking about?" Quinn asked. "Artie and I are just friends. That's part of the beauty of this. We aren't in a relationship, so we get to avoid all of the usual relationship drama!"

"There's always going to be drama, wherever sex is involved," Mercedes informed her.

"Says the woman who has only ever had sex with one man," Quinn retorted. "Artie and I are just friends. That's all we ever were, and that's all we will ever be. Why can't you just support me on this?"

"I do support you," Mercedes said, placing a hand on her friend's forearm. "But part of that is warning you if I think you're going to get hurt."

"Artie would never hurt me. I trust him more than any other man that I've ever known. I get what you're trying to say, but can you please just be happy for us?" Quinn pleaded.

"I am happy for you," Mercedes told her friend. But she still had her doubts about it.

"Good," Quinn said smiling. "Now how about you let me live emotionally vicariously through you, and tell me how married life has been treating you. How are things between you and Michael?"

"Great," Mercedes gushed, and the two of them talked about Mercedes' relationship with her husband Michael for almost another hour.

# # # # # #

Artie's meeting lasted all afternoon, and by the time he got home Quinn was just finishing up with dinner. She seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been that morning. Her lunch with Mercedes had apparently done her a whole lot of good.

A few minutes later, Artie smiled at Quinn from across the table as the two of them related their respective days while sitting there eating dinner together. She was in a better mood than he'd seen her in days, and he was looking forward to tonight, hopeful that it would carry over into bedtime.

He finished his nightly routine twenty minutes earlier than usual, and retreated to his bedroom to work on his script some more while waiting for her. But by 11 PM he looked over at the time, and came to the reluctant conclusion that she apparently wasn't coming, and turned out the lights.

# # # # # #

The following morning, Artie got up and rolled out into the kitchen to have breakfast. Quinn was already there eating a bowl of cereal and some O.J.

"Good morning," she greeted him warmly, kissing him on the cheek "Sleep well?"

"I slept alright," he told her. "I missed you though."

"Yeah," she told him. "Sorry about that. I forgot to tell you that I got my period yesterday, and then the cramps set in after dinner. Sex when you're on your period can be pretty messy, especially when the girl is on top, and the possibility of conceiving is remote anyway."

He nodded. "That makes sense then. I'm just glad it wasn't anything that I said or did."

"Of course not," she told him. "I would have told you."

He questioned that because clearly something was bothering her that she would not talk about, but he pushed that thought aside for the moment.

"I've just become accustomed to having you there with me," he told her. "I've think I sleep better."

She nodded, "I do too. You know, if you want I could come in and sleep there even though I'm on my period. I just don't want to disturb you."

He smiled. "I'd like that. You're not disturbing me at all. Consider it an open invitation to share my bed for the foreseeable future!"

"You sweet taller you!" she responded, laughing. Then she leaned in and gave him a hug. "I'd be glad to."

That night and for every night following, Quinn joined Artie in his room after their respective routines and the two of them shared a bed and cuddled with each other most nights before nodding off. Artie couldn't help but wonder why she was so much more relaxed sleeping with him when they didn't have sex than when they did.

# # # # # #

Monday morning Artie attended the first casting session for his new movie, "The Reckoning."

He met his producer Antonio, and casting director Linda at the studio office an hour before the first group of actors and actresses were scheduled to arrive for their readings. He had worked with both of them before, so they slipped into an easy rhythm.

Linda had arranged appointments for each of the actors and actresses throughout the day. She'd organized their resumes and headshots, and provided a brief blurb about what she saw as the relative strengths and weaknesses of each actress for the role or roles that they were up for. This made their job a whole lot easier, and the auditions went very smoothly.

The first three hours were relatively uneventful. They had seen a half a dozen actress, two of which they expected to give callbacks to. All in all an average day. They had one more woman to see before they were going to break for lunch.

"Santana Lopez," Linda called out. Artie did a double take as he took another look at the casting list containing the names of the actresses.

"Fancy meeting you here Weels," he heard a familiar voice say. "How's it hanging?"

"Santana?" He asked in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she told him. "I'm auditioning for this movie."

"Well yeah," he told her, "I know that part. What I mean is what are you doing here in California? The last I'd heard, you and Brittany were living in New York."

"You might want to log into Facebook once in awhile," she retorted in her usual playful smart-ass tone. "Brittany and I got tired of the limited opportunities on the east coast, so we decided to try our luck here about a month ago."

"Oh," he told her, "I guess I've been very focused on this project lately."

"You two know each other?" Antonio asked.

"We went to highschool together," he answered simply, not wanting to mix his personal and professional lives too much.

"We did more than that," she reminded him, clearly not worried about the same thing. "We were in glee club together for three years, you directed me in West Side Story, and you helped plan my wedding."

"You two were in Glee Club?" Linda asked. "So was I," she volunteered, not even waiting for either of them to respond.

"Anyway," Artie suggested, back to business, "Why don't we get on with the audition. You're our last reading for lunch. If you're interested we could maybe go get a bite to eat at the diner across the street and catch up."

"Sounds like a plan," she told them.

# # # # # #

Twenty-Five minutes later Artie and Santana entered the diner, and took a seat at one of the tables after Santana set one of the chairs aside to make room for his wheelchair. It turned out that Santana had done pretty well in her reading, and while he still had to discuss it with the others, Artie was pretty confident that she would get a callback. In fact, she was in the lead for the role as far as he was concerned. Of course the professional director in him would not allow him to actually tell her that.

The waitress approached them, gave them their menus, and took their drink orders before leaving them to to decide what they wanted to eat.

"So how are you and Brittany doing?" Artie asked casually, opening his menu.

"We are doing great!" Santana told him. "We are still so much in love with each other, and people are so much more open minded about same sex relationships these days. We haven't seen you in quite a few years, but if you've been following us on Facebook, you know that we have three children now. On son that Brittany carried, and two twin daughters that I did." Artie nodded.

She took out her phone and showed him a picture. "The boy looks like Blaine," Artie joked.

"That's because Blaine is probably his father," Santana informed him.

"Really?" Artie asked.

"Yeah," Santana told him. "After Quinn donated the egg and Rachel carried their kids for them, Blaine and Lady Hummel decided to pay it forward and donated the sperm for us. The in vitro fertilization clinic mixed the sperm from them and the eggs from us, so we can't be completely sure who the biological parents are, but he definitely looks like Blaine."

He nodded, smiling, "That makes sense. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks," she told him smiling. "What about you? Any special ladies in your life? Your Facebook status still says single, and the last time I saw your picture in a tabloid, you and Q were walking some red carpet together."

"That pretty much sums it up," he told her. "You know how unsuccessful I was with love in high school and college. That hasn't really changed out in the real world." Santana frowned. She was sorry to hear that. "Occasionally I get an aspiring actress who shows interest, but they have pretty much all turned out to be gold diggers hoping to use me and my connections to further their careers. When that doesn't happen they tend to make themselves scarce and stop answering my calls. So I haven't had any serious relationships in a long time. A few years back Quinn and I both needed to go to the same event - The Golden Globes, I think - so we decided to go together. We had fun, so we decided to make a tradition out of it.

"Neither of us have had any real luck in the dating department, so we regularly accompany each other to events. I got tired of having to question people's motives, and she got tired of guys trying to get in her pants. We've been friends for a long time and are comfortable hanging out and going to things like that without it getting weird."

"Back in high school I would have never described you two as friends," Santana told him. "At least not outside of Glee Club."

"That's because you never really got to know me, and always seemed to be in competition with her. Maybe no one told you because neither of us really made a big deal out of it, but we have been friends since we were kids, and after her car accident her senior year we spent a lot of time together, and we got especially close again."

He knew he could have gone into much more detail about their long, enduring, friendship; but he decided that there was no need to, and Santana probably didn't care anyway.

Santana nodded, vaguely remembering the three months that the two of them had been inseparable after her accident until they had some kind of fight on senior skip day, and she started half dating the creepy new kid Joe who had basically admitted to Sam that he wanted in her pants.

"What's up with Q anyway," she asked. "Do you see her often? Or just when you need a red carpet date? I need to look her up and catch up soon."

"You could say that," he chuckled. "I last saw her about four hours ago. We actually live together now."

"Really?" Santana asked, shocked. "You and Q are cohabitating?"

"It's not like that," he told her. "We both came to Hollywood about the same time almost ten years ago. We kept running into each other, and worked together on a couple projects. One day about seven years ago or so, we were chatting, and I told her about my problems finding a good, affordable, handicapped accessible apartment, and she vented to me about her annoying roommate Lea who was obsessed with her own stardom and always talking about herself. She wanted her own place, but couldn't afford it.

"We continued talking, and after running some numbers, decided that we could help each other out. We agreed to look for an apparent together. With two incomes we were able to find a decent two bedroom handicapped accessible apartment that we liked and could afford. We are often working at different times so we each get our share of privacy, and when one of us is working more than the other one, the one working less takes care of most of the housework. Right now I'm working a lot on this movie and she's between projects, so she's doing most of the cooking and cleaning, but it will be my turn once she lands a role in a movie or television series."

Santana noded. "That makes sense I guess." But it still seemed weird to think about.

The waitress returned and took their orders.

After she left to put the orders in, the two of them sat there in silence for several minutes as Artie considered whether or not to tell Santana about Quinn's and his plans to have a child together. She'd said that she was going to reconnect with Quinn herself soon so he figured he may as well.

"There's something else that I should probably tell you before you get together with Quinn," he began reluctantly. She turned to face him. "After attending her daughter Beth's High School graduation a couple weeks ago, we decided to have a child together," he finally got out.

"You have got to be kidding!" Santana told him. "You and Quinn? I don't mean to be mean, but are you even able to have kids?"

"Of course I can!" he told her, defensively. "Just because I'm a paraplegic doesn't mean that I'm sterile!"

Santana realized that she'd offended him and was taken aback. After all of these years she still came off as a royal bitch sometime, even without intending to.

"Look," she began, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I shouldn't have said that. After all of these years I still struggle at filtering what pops into my head before it goes straight out of my mouth."

He nodded, accepting her apology.

"I'm just surprised is all," she told him. "I've never heard you talk about wanting kids before, or heard any of the women you've dated talk about wanting to have kids with you."

"That's because like you, most women assume that I can't have kids," he informed her, "and the few that don't assume that, generally don't think about it. Despite all of the increase in open mindedness in recent years, most women don't give serious thought to having children with a handicapped person, because they don't want to be hampered down by the 'inconvenience' of having a partner who is in a wheelchair. In the back of their minds they decide I'm not a suitable father for their children, so the discussion never comes up unless I bring it up, and if I do, they generally come up with another excuse to end the relationship shortly thereafter. So I just don't bring it up anymore."

"But you and Q…"

"Quinn actually broached the subject with me," he informed her. "We've known each other all of our lives, and lived together for seven years so she is very much aware of my … difficulties … and doesn't care."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this," she told him. "What happens if one of you meets someone? How is this going to go over with that person?"

"Come on, Santana," he responded. "If it hasn't happened by now, it's pretty clear that it isn't going to. Quinn wants a child. So do it. Neither of us sees that happening with anyone else anytime soon if at all. So we are helping each other out. I'd love to believe that marriage and family were going to happen, but I'm 36 years old now, and it's pretty obvious that it isn't in the cards for me.

"Sex doesn't have to involve romantic emotions. You know that. Hell, you and Brittany taught me that when she and I dated briefly. Remember?"

Santana did indeed remember. Santana and Brittany had each slept with many guys in high school, because it would not have been acceptable to be together back then. It had been like a game to them to see who could get more notched on their bedpost. Eventually Brittany had wanted to come out together fully, but Santana had resisted, afraid of what people would think. Brittany had used Artie in an attempt to make her jealous, taking his virginity, and had scarred him deeply as she recalled.

"Look," Santana told him, getting serious for a moment, "I really should have said something fifteen years ago, but as you know, apologies have never been my thing. I'm really sorry for how I treated you when you were dating Brittany and for my role in your breakup. I've had feelings for Brittany for as long as I've known her, and I had a hard time coming to terms with them, because they weren't appropriate to express back then. I was angry and hated myself, and lashed out at you because I was jealous that someone else was making Brit happy. I used the feelings that I knew she had for me as well, and manipulated her into cheating on you. You didn't deserve it, and I'm sorry that you got hurt. If it means anything to you, I know she loved you too.

"Thanks," he told her. "That means a lot. I've never been one to hold grudges, so I forgave the two of you many years ago, but it's nice to finally hear it.

"I know she loved me. She just loved you more, and considering that you've been married to each other for almost fifteen years now, clearly you two were meant to be together.

"But it's just very frustrating. Every woman that I date ends up finding someone better than me: Tina, Brittany, Sugar, Betty, Kitty, numerous other classmates and actresses … It just sucks the I keep getting the short end of the stick! I keep asking when's it going to be my turn? Well I've finally come to terms with the fact that it probably never will be and I'm slowly becoming okay with that."

Just then the waitress arrived with their food.

When she had departed, Santana told him, "You never know. That person could be right under your nose and you might not realize it. But if you have a kid that you're actively raising with another woman, you become instantly undesirable."

And with that they changed the subject to Brittany and Santana's children while they ate their food.

# # # # # #

After the two of them finished their meals, they parted ways. Santana was off to another audition, and Artie returned to the casting office for an afternoon of more auditions. They did indeed agree to give Santana a callback, along with seven more actors and actresses that they had auditioned that day.

When they were finally done, Artie returned home where Quinn was making dinner again.

"Guess who showed up at my audition today?" he asked her.

"Who?" Quinn asked casually.

"Santana," he informed her. "It turns out she and Brittany have moved out here looking for more job opportunities."

"Really?" Quinn asked surprised."That's great," she said. "I've really missed them!"

"Yeah," he told her. "I figured that you did, so I hope you don't mind that I told her that we would go out to dinner with the two of them one night this week."

"Of course I don't mind," she assured him.

"Oh, and I may also have told her about the two of us trying to have a baby together," he added.

"Oh boy," Quinn asked. "how did she take it."

"She thinks we are nuts," he told her. He didn't have the heart to tell her the details of their conversation.

"Typical Santana," Quinn laughed.

# # # # # #

Author's Endnote: For those who are wondering, Michael, Mercedes husband, is the Christian musician with the big booty, nicknamed 'Tank', whom she mentions dating in What The World Needs Now. We got a glimpse of what I always assumed was him, standing behind Mercedes during the Tony party in Dreams Come True, so we can assume that they are still together at that point. This is Nine years later so I assume that they are married and may have started a family at this point.

You know the drill. If you've read the story drop me a review and tell me what you thought and weather you think I am on the right track and should continue with this. Thanks!

[ minor text revisions 4/30/17 ]


	3. Frustration

Quartie Ever After

Chapter 3: Frustration

By Wilde Abrams

AUTHOR'S NOTES: All I can say is WOW! The continued success of this story amazes me. I started planning and writing this story on a whim about a month and a half ago because I was basically scratching an itch. There is so little Wildebrams fanfic out there that I have to read other ships if I want something new, and one of my favorite has always been Quartie. I've always wanted to write a Quartie story, but I didn't think that there would be any real interest in reading one since the other writers basically stopped around 2013. Boy was I wrong! In terms of reviews, this is far and away my most successful story, and only a few of them have come from people who were reading my stuff before.

DISCLAIMER: This chapter and the ones after it contain discussion about the specifics of adult sexual relationship. While it is not in any way considered 'smut' such discussion may make some readers uncomfortable, so be prepared for that.

Like all of my work, the thrust of the story is the emotional relationships, but I can not properly tell this story without delving into some of the specifics.

I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue!

# # # # # #

Quinn had her period for most of the remainder of the week, so they just slept on the same bed and relaxed in each other's arms before falling asleep. The time had been relaxing and enjoyable for both of them. But her flow stopped on Thursday so that night, Quinn and Artie started having sex once again trying to get pregnant. Quinn was more relaxed this time, but Artie couldn't tell whether she was warming up to it or just getting better at hiding whatever was bothering her.

Friday evening the two of them had gone out to eat with Santana and Brittany, and the three of them had enjoyed eachother's company. Unlike her wife, Brittany was thrilled to find out that Quinn and Artie were planning to have a child together. She somehow managed to coax a smile out of Santana, and the rest of the evening was much more relaxed. Quinn had gushed over the pictures of Brittany and Santana's kids, and they discussed baby names; and Brittany even offered her suggestions about dealing with the difficulties of being pregnant, until Quinn reminded her friend that she'd been pregnant and given birth sophomore year, a fact that Brittany had somehow forgotten.

# # # # # #

When they got home they were both in a good mood and once again had sex in an attempt to get pregnant. However, Quinn once again pulled away when they were done, but not as quickly, and wasn't as distant afterwards as she had been before. Artie could tell that something still wasn't right. If it were almost anyone else, she probably would've fooled them, but Artie had known her for thirty years, lived with her for seven, and knew her extremely well.

The following morning Quinn took another pregnancy test which also turned out to be negative. The disappointment flowed through her, and her body shook, as she stared at the test strip.

Artie could see the tears starting to form in her eyes as the negative sign appeared on the pregnancy test. She was trying to hide it, but Artie could tell that she was really upset. Her face and body began to tense up and her body began to shake. He wheeled over to her and pulled her into his lap. She buried her face in his shoulder and he ran his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her.

"Shhh," he told her. "It's okay. It will be okay."

"I'm sorry," she told him with a shaky voice as she wiped away her tears. "I just want this so badly!"

"I know," he told her. "I do too. But we have plenty of time. We've only been trying to get pregnant for a little over three weeks."

"I know," she told him. "But after last night talking to Santana and Brittany and seeing pictures of their kids, it just really got to me, ya know? I could see how happy they are and what a strong impact motherhood has had on the two of them, especially Santana." He nodded. He'd actually had a similar observation. "I don't understand. It happened so easily by accident with Puck way back then, but now that I really want it, it's not!"

"I don't know," he told her honestly and kissed her temple. In the back of his head he wondered if he were the problem, but this was not the time to mention that. "We'll just have to redouble our efforts," he suggested with a chuckle.

"Is that your way of saying that we just need to have more sex?" she asked in a slightly more lighthearted tone, as a smile began to form on her face.

"Maybe…" he answered in a playful tone. "It can't hurt."

"You charmer, you!" she told him, slapping his shoulder playfully.

He reached up with his free hand and dried the remainder of her tears, and the two of them just sat there in silence.

"Maybe we are just putting too much pressure on ourselves?" she finally ventured.

"Yeah," he told her. "It will happen for us when the time is right."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked.

"Because I believe that it will," he told her. Then he locked his eyes with hers and added, "Because I believe in you…I've ALWAYS believed in you..."

Her eyes began to water again as her heart began to melt, reminding herself why she had chosen him to do this with. For as long as she had known him, he was the one person who had always been in her corner, even when she did not necessarily deserve it. Their eyes locked and their faces slowly began to move towards each other. Their lips were mere inches apart when she suddenly snapped out of it.

"You're going to be late for your meeting," she told him.

"Yeah," he said, glancing at the time.

She stood up and the two of them went their separate ways for the remainder of the day.

# # # # # #

The two of them finished the day as normal, each doing their own thing. That morning he had a first meeting with the costume designer for his film. That afternoon he worked on assorted other things for his film, scouring the script and drafting notes for the production people. She busied herself with housework and looking through Variety and online for roles that interested her.

That afternoon Quinn was making dinner when her mind drifted back to what had almost happened that morning. She had almost kissed him. Not because they were caught up and having sex as usual. No, they shared a brief moment. She wanted to kiss him, and she wasn't sure what it meant. The two of them were just friends - close friends to be sure - but just friends. Despite the attraction growing between them, there could never be more than friendship between them. But she still couldn't stop thinking about it the rest of the day and evening.

Artie noticed that she seemed distracted during dinner, but when he asked her about it, she said that it was nothing.

Later that night they tried yet again to get pregnant, and while Quinn didn't physically pull away as fast she had before, she still seemed distant, and Artie lay there frustrated until he eventually fell asleep.

# # # # # #

Sunday night Artie lay in bed after they had finished having sex. Quinn's distant behavior was really starting to get to him again, especially after what had almost happened the previous day. They had almost kissed, and not as part of the sex. He didn't know what it meant. He'd been telling himself that it shouldn't matter because this was just a means to an end. Something that they had to do in order to get pregnant, and how she behaved afterwards didn't matter.

But it did matter to him.

Quinn and he had been trying to conceive a child for almost four weeks without success and they were getting increasing frustrated. The stress that both of them were under no doubt contributed to their problems conceiving. But he also had the added frustration over how she had been acting. He glanced over at her.

As before, she seemed distant and distracted. She lay on her side, faced away, her still bare back towards him. He had been telling himself that it didn't bother him; that she wasn't his girlfriend; that they were only doing this to conceive a child so it didn't matter. But no matter how much he tried to deny it and qualify it; it did matter to him, and he couldn't keep it inside anymore.

"What's the matter Quinn?" he asked her.

"Nothing," she lied, sighing.

"Please Quinn, " he pleaded, placing his hand on her bare shoulder, "Tell me what's bothering you? I've known you forever, and I can tell when something's bothering you…"

"It's nothing Art-"

"Don't tell me it's nothing," he pleaded. "I know having sex with a paraplegic probably isn't that enjoyable to you, but please, just be honest with me about it! Maybe there's something-"

Her eyes popped out of their sockets at his words, and she abruptly turned to face him.

"Is that what you think?" She asked him with a shocked look on her face.

"What else am I supposed to think?" He asked. "You seem to be enjoying it just fine during the act itself, but as soon as we are done you pull away, and you're distant and distracted as if you can't stand it, and can't pretend that you're enjoying it anymore! Does it really revulse you that much?"

This really seemed to bother her. Her voice cracked. "Oh my God, Artie! You're completely wrong-"

"Then tell me what's the matter! We've known eachother forever. I would have thought that you'd know by now that our friendship goes deeper than that-"

"That's just it," She told him. "We are friends … just friends, and yet I've been having the best sex of my life with you, and it's confusing the hell out of me!"

"What…!?" out of all the things she could have said, this was the most unexpected.

"I've literally never had an orgasm during sex without self stimulating, and not only is it happening with you, but it's happening every single time, and they are the most powerful orgasms I've ever had! I don't know how you couldn't tell! My entire body quivers."

Artie just lay there dumbfounded. "I just thought that you were pretending in order to please me…"

"I'm not that good of an actress, Artie!" She shot back.

He smiled, pleasantly relieved, but was also confused. "I don't understand," he told her. "There's nothing wrong with that. Sex is supposed to be enjoyable."

"With someone you're in love with!" She finished. "Artie we are supposed to be just friends. You're only supposed to enjoy sex that much with the love of your life. Not someone who is just your friend, whom you're trying to conceive a child with."

"Quinn," he asked her, "have we ever really been 'just' friends? Except when you moved away, and for a while during high school, we've always been pretty close. Maybe I'm overstepping things by telling you this, but you're one of the most important people in my life, and have been for thirty years!"

"That's not what I meant," she told him. "You know that I feel the same way."

Artie was shocked at her admission. He'd been hesitant to tell her how important she was to him, because he didn't really think she felt the same way. But she had just admitted that she did. He was also having the best sex of his life. The thought that she wasn't enjoying it herself hurt him deeply. He was trying desperately to deny, and hide it for fear of his long buried feelings for her surfacing and being inadvertently betrayed. That was why this whole mess was bothering him so much.

"Then what's the matter?" He offered. "Sex should be enjoyed. We both clearly have needs that aren't being filled elsewhere. If we are going to continue this until you get pregnant, then I think we should stop being guarded about it and just embrace it."

"That sounds dangerously like Friends With Benefits," she warned him.

"That just makes it sound cheap. Let's just drop the labels," he proposed. "Enough others will try to assign labels to us once word of this gets out. Let's just not worry about labeling ourselves and just enjoy the experience."

They both just lay there for several moments and let what was said between them sink in.

"Okay," she finally relented, and leaned in and gave him a passionate kiss.

She crawled on top of him again, and the two of the engaged in a second round of powerful sex. Neither of them held back physically or vocally as they held each other, and each climaxed.

This time she didn't pull away afterwards and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

# # # # # #

The following morning, Artie awoke to see Quinn still in his arms gazing at him.

"Well good morning sleepyhead," she said joyfully. They both smiled as she continued. "Thank you for last night. The talk and…"

Both laughed.

"You're quite welcome," he told her. "And thank YOU. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed sex, and I definitely think that the fact that we are so close factors into that. You had me worried there for a while. Thank you for finally letting me in. Guarded Quinn is so frustrating. Please just be honest with me about what you're thinking from now on."

"I'll try," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "It's not something that comes naturally to me. But if there is anyone in my life who I can open up to more, it's you."

She leaned in and kissed him again. "Care to go for round three?"

He grinned and pulled her close to him again, and the two of them had sex for the third time in under ten hours.

When they were finished, she lay there in his arms just enjoying the afterglow. Neither of them had any plans for the day so they decided to just spend a lazy morning in bed.

Quinn's mind drifted to considering her relationship with Artie. He really was the most important person in her life. He probably always had been. He was the only person in her life who had never had any expectations of her or tried to get her to change herself to meet what he wanted.

She could see herself falling for him so easily, but knew that there was no way that she could let that happen, because there was no possible way that he would even return those feelings. That thought made her a bit sad, but she knew that she was lucky to have him, even though he was 'just' her friend.

# # # # # #

Over the next few days things got very busy for Quinn and Artie. Artie's days were filled with casting sessions and other meetings. Quinn attended three more auditions. In her free time she did some research with WebMD online and some other sources and discovered that, while she could technically get pregnant at any time, the most fertile time for a woman didn't begin until the middle of her cycle, around day 14, which wasn't until the end of the week. Somehow she didn't remember that ever coming up in middle school health class. But come to think of it, sex ed wasn't very informative in general back then. After all, she'd somehow managed to convince Finn that he'd impregnated her via hot tub.

She felt a pang of guilt at the memory of her late ex boyfriend who had died way too soon. She really had loved him, and had a hard time understanding and accepting the fact that he never loved her the same way that she loved him. Unfortunately for Quinn, his heart had belonged to Rachel Berry from the moment he'd met her, but due to her own stupid attitude and choices, she'd treated him so badly that she all but pushed him into Rachel's arms. Knowing what eventually happened, she deeply regretted opposing their wedding Senior Year. God only gave you so much time on this Earth. You never knew how much time that would be, and when your time was up, it was up. That was a hard lesson she'd learned from Finn's untimely passing. Treating both of them as badly as she had was one of the biggest regrets of her life.

She had also downloaded one of those period tracker things for her phone to help her determine when she would be ovulating. She told Artie about this and they decided to redouble their efforts this weekend.

She also did some research into pregnancy tests and found out that she was thinking about them all wrong. They weren't meant to be taken at just any time. She was taking them too soon and it was best to wait until about a week after missing a period for the best results. Not doing that, along with not strictly following the instructions on the test itself could lead to a false negative. She sighed, and decided to try to be more patient.

# # # # # #

Friday evening Quinn decide to go all out in her preparations like she had the first night that they'd slept together. They had been having sex all week, but this was different. According to her period tracker app, she was entering the phase in her cycle where she should be the most fertile, and her temperature was up slightly so she should be ovulating.

# # # # # #

Artie was getting really excited. This week had been one of the most exhilarating weeks of his life. Pre-production was well underway for his movie. A little over half the characters were cast. His plans and meetings were going well, and on top of that he was enjoying an amazing sex life, even if he wasn't in a relationship with the woman he was sleeping with. That last bit bothered him a little bit, but he reminded himself that there was no way she would ever consider dating him for real, and brushed those thoughts aside.

Quinn had told him at dinner that she was ovulating, so after dinner, Artie did his before bed routine early. He took a shower and changed into his usual sleeping attire. At some point over the last month he had switched to satin boxer shorts and begun to forgo the usual undershirt, displaying his ample pectoral muscles, one of the benefits of being confined to a wheelchair for so long.

He had barely slipped into bed when he heard the sound of the shower in the next room. He didn't bother looking at his laptop or iPad, because he knew he wouldn't have long to wait.

# # # # # #

As soon as Artie had vacated the bathroom, Quinn got up off the couch and was in the shower herself. She took a long thorough shower, making sure to get herself as clean as possible. She shaved her legs and pubes, even though they didn't really need it. She dried herself off and did her hair and makeup, before splashing on a little perfume.

Unlike before she decided to forgo the nightgown, figuring that it wouldn't be on for long anyway. She left the bathroom and walked over to his bedroom comply naked.

# # # # # #

Artie lay in his bed expectantly when he heard the water of the shower turn off. A few moments later he saw the door open, but he was completely unprepared for the site that befell him.

Artie had seen Quinn in various levels of undress many times. Even before they had started trying to get pregnant, they had been roommates for about seven years, and if you lived with someone long enough it was only a matter of time until you accidentally saw them in some state of undress, which he had a handful of times. That didn't even count the time when Artie had wheeled past a dressing room before Regionals his junior year and caught a glimpse of a half naked Quinn changing into her dress because she hadn't closed the door all the way. He hadn't been able to look her in the eye for a week after that. Of course nothing had been left to the imagination since they had been sleeping together trying to have a baby.

All of that paled in comparison to the image that appeared before him now. The door open and a stark naked Quinn strode confidently into the room. Her hair and makeup were done; her body freshly shaved. But unlike before he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing or jewelry. All she had on was a broad smile as she approached him. His eyes met hers as she quickly approached him and joined him on the bed.

She gave him a searing hot kiss, which he returned. She pulled back the covers, slipped off his boxers, straddled his body, and … nothing happened.

# # # # # #

Two hours later the two of them lay next to each other in bed, frustrated. No matter what they did, Artie had been unable to achieve an erection. There had been plenty of flesh on flesh contact, she had give him some of the below the waste physical stimulation that he'd mention not needing but enjoying. She'd even tried oral stimulation and having him touch her.

But nothing had worked.

After about an hour they had given up.

"I'm sorry Quinn," he told her after several minutes of silence after she had given up.

"No," she choked. "Don't be sorry. This is MY FAULT! I'm putting way too much pressure on you. I'm sorry!"

"Quinn…"

"It is…"

She met his eyes and he could see tears welling. He knew that he would not be able to convince her otherwise. He sighed and pulled her into a hug, kissed her cheek and dried her eyes with his fingers.

"It will be okay…." was all he said, and all that she really needed to hear.

Eventually the two of them had managed to fall asleep.

# # # # # #

The following two nights had been more or less repeats of the first.

The weekend passed with numerous efforts to cure Artie of his impotence, but to no avail.

Monday morning Artie resumed his casting sessions and other meetings, and Quinn had another audition.

The two of them agreed to just relax and try to take the pressure off of themselves. Each night they shared a bed and cuddled, but Artie wasn't able to 'get it up' until Wednesday. But by that time Quinn was no longer ovulating.

This whole mess was very frustrating to both of them.

# # # # # #

Friday morning Artie approached Quinn at the breakfast table.

"I've been thinking," he began, "That maybe we should go see our doctors to make sure we are both okay medically."

"I've been wondering the same thing myself," she responded. "I just didn't want to say it. Fertility treatments are so expensive though …"

"We don't know for sure that it would be necessary," he reassured her. "One of us could have some minor medical problem that's easily corrected, or there may be nothing wrong at all. If nothing else we can get peace of mind, and pick the doctor's minded for ideas about what we haven't tried yet."

"Yesh," she told him. "You're right. But if fertility treatments are need-"

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves," he told her. "If there's a problem we can face it together."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, once again reminding herself how lucky she was to have a friend like him.

# # # # # #

Friday afternoon Antonio the Producer, Linda the Casting Director, and Artie were going through the cast list of the movie, finalizing their first and second choice actors and actresses for the film as the audition process was coming to an end. Santana had made the cut and was being offered the role that she had auditioned for. They had found good people for virtually all of the roles in the film. There was really only one important role left to cast and two other minor ones. All in all it had been a very successful few weeks.

As they were starting to pack up their belongings, Antonio turned to Artie.

"Artie," Antonio addresses him, "Have you got a second?"

Artie stopped what he was doing, confused. He thought that they were done for the day.

"Yeah," he responded, "What's up?"

"Linda and I wanted to talk to you about the character of Donna for a minute," Antonio told him. Donna was the character that they still needed to cast.

"What about her?" Artie wondered.

"Linda has an actress that she thinks would be ideal for the part," Antonio informed him.

"Great," Artie told them, smiling. "Make an appointment and get her in here!"

"That's the problem," Linda answered. "Her agent doesn't believe that she would be interested, and won't bring it to her."

Artie frowned. This wasn't uncommon in Hollywood, and wasn't surprising given the role that they were talking about. A good percentage of actresses in Hollywood would not be interested in a role like that.

"We were hoping that you could help us with that," Antonio added.

Artie was confused, "I don't understand what I could do about it," he told them.

"Well it's our understanding that you know her," Linda answered. "She was in two of your previous projects... Quinn Fabray…."

Artie just sat there stunned for a moment. "Quinn?... You want Quinn to play Donna?..."

"Yeah," Antonio. "Physically she's ideal for the part, and we know that she can act, and that you can get good performances out of her."

Artie was completely shocked and shook his head. "No," he assured them. "This isn't her kind of role. She wouldn't be interested."

"How can you be so sure if we don't ask her?" Linda asked him.

"Because I know her," he answered simply. "I've actually known her longer than Satana. She was in that same production of West Side Story that Santana told you about. Trust me, she wouldn't be interested."

"Artie," Antonio told him. "I don't need to remind you that we haven't been able to find anyone else for this role, and we are running out of time. We start filing in THREE weeks."

"I understand," Artie told him. "But that doesn't change the fact that this part isn't right for -"

"No, Artie," Antonio interrupted him, "I don't think you do understand. We are between a rock and a hard place. We need this role cast by the end of next week at the latest. I'm pulling rank. I need you to discuss the role with her."

Artie sighed and nodded, "Okay…. But I still don't think she will be interested."

"Let's let her make that decision, shall we?" Linda answered with more bite than necessary.

"And if she is as immediately unreceptive as you think that she will be," Antonio added, "I expect you to do your best to sell it to her. Do I make myself clear?"

Artie sighed and noded. Sometimes he hated this business.

# # # # # #

Quinn sat at the kitchen table with her laptop paying bills. It was nine weeks since her last job, and all of her auditions this week had been rejections. This was hardly unusual. She had always been slightly picky about the roles that she auditioned for. Her living arrangement with Artie allowed her that flexibility.

But things were about to change. With the prospect of bringing a child into the world, her expenses were about to increase quite a bit. Artie had told her not to worry so much about it. But how could she not? Children were expensive enough, but add to that the cost of medical bills - a sonogram cost a whole lot more than the $685 that they did when she was 15 - and now possibly some form of fertility treatments or in vitro fertilization, it would not be fair to ask Artie to shoulder the bulk of those costs. She was slowly eating away at her savings, so she needed some more income soon!

She was sitting thinking about all of this when Artie rolled into the room.

"Hey," he greeted her. "How was your day."

"Rejected again," she responded with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," he comforted her with a hug.

"It's okay," she told him. "It's part of the business. I have been thinking that I may have to relax my standards about what I audition for, though."

"No, Quinn," he told her. "Don't do that!"

"What choice so do I have?" she asked him. "I'm eroding my savings-"

"I told you not to worry about money!" he told her.

"And I really haven't been that much," she answered. "but raising a child is expensive, and it's not fair to expect you to shoulder the bulk of the expenses indefinitely."

Artie sighed and noded. He didn't want to admit it but she was right. While he could afford most, it not all of the expenses himself with the income he was currently bringing in, there was no guarantee that would always be the case. He also knew that Quinn was very independent, and always had been. She could never be satisfied being supported by someone else. She had to feel like she was supporting herself to be happy, and there was no way that he would take that from her.

But, he knew that the Donna role could not have come at a worse possible time. She was frustrated, and thus emotionally vulnerable. It probably wouldn't be that hard to convince her to take the role if he wanted to. But he knew that she would regret it later if she did, and would probably resent him for talking her into it. He would also have to live with himself for what he had done, and he wasn't willing to do that to any actress, let alone his best friend.

No, he decided not to talk to Quinn about the Donna role. He had two days to figure something out to tell Antonio.

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #

Sorry about the cliffhanger! If you're an avid follower of Glee, you might be able to guess why Artie doesn't think she would want the role.

Thanks again for all of the support. Please review, tell me what you think, and let me know if you want me to continue!

[ minor text revisions 4/30/17 ]


	4. Conflicts

Quartie Ever After

Chapter 4: Conflicts

By Wilde Abrams

Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all of the readers who are reading and reviewing this story. I can't emphasize that last part enough. Reviews - even the ones that are only a few words - are what keep a writer going! So, please take a few moments and tell me what you think! Also feel free to offer some suggestions if you're feeling so inclined.

DISCLAIMER: This chapter and the ones after it contain discussion about the specifics of adult sexual relationship. While it is not in any way considered 'smut' such discussion may make some readers uncomfortable, so be prepared for that.

Like all of my work, the thrust of the story is the emotional relationships, but I can not properly tell this story without delving into some of the specifics.

Sorry it's taken so long to update! I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue!

# # # # # #

Following another night of enjoyable sex in an attempt to get pregnant, Artie crawled out of bed late morning Saturday, got dressed and started looking at some videos on his computer. He was determined to find a different actress to play Donna so that he could avoid conflict with his producer Antonio on Monday, when he would have to report that he hadn't convinced Quinn to take the part; a part he knew was all wrong for her. He had been thinking about this the previous evening and ever since he'd woken up that morning.

He began going through the list of other actresses he'd worked with who might be right for the part. He managed to scribble down three names before moving into some other recent movies that he was familiar with but hadn't actually worked on. He also researched other up and coming actresses online, and looked at samples of each actress work in YouTube. Finally he looked at the actresses that they had auditioned for other roles in The Reckoning who either hadn't gotten the part that they wanted, or were the second choices for roles already cast. When he was finally done, around late dinner time, he had a list of 12 alternative actresses. Some of them were a stretch, but you never know, right?

# # # # # #

At dinner, Quinn noticed that he was quiet and asked about it.

"Is everything alright?" She asked him. "You've been pretty quiet today."

"Oh, it's nothing serious," he told her. "We are finalizing the cast of the movie. We've got all but three roles filled. I think I told you that Santana got the one she wanted." Quinn noded. "Well the Casting Director is having a really hard time with this one role, so I'm just trying to help her out a little bit." It wasn't a complete lie.

Quinn noded. For a brief second, she wondered if it was a role that she could do. But she dismissed it immediately. Artie and she had worked together before, and he'd seen pretty much everything that she'd ever done, including some theater and student films she'd been in at Yale. She trusted that if she was at all right for the part, he would tell her.

"That's sweet of you," she told him, and went back to her food.

# # # # # #

Sunday morning Quinn and Artie had another lazy morning in bed. Quinn awoke first around 9, and lay there happy until Artie awoke about 40 minutes later. Neither of them managed to crawl out of bed until about 11:30.

After a shared brunch, Artie retreated back into his room go do some more work on his film and wait for his mother to call. The two of them tried to make an effort to do a video chat about every other Sunday. They had scheduled a 2:00 call via text message earlier in the week because it has been over a month since their last chat.

Artie was so deeply engrossed in his work that he literally jumped when he heard the familiar chime of an incoming Skype call.

He smiled when he saw "Incoming Video Call from Nancy Abrams" on his screen. He clicked the Answer button and was awarded with his mother's smiling face on the screen.

"Hi mom," Artie greeted her with a huge grin, "What's New?"

"Nothing much," Nancy said, "your father sends his love.

"Work has been as hectic as ever." Nancy Abrams was a Social Worker who specialized in clients with disabilities. "We have more clients with unique needs than ever before, but our budget was cut again, and it's getting harder and harder to get grants, so we are trying to get really creative with the money that we do have," she finished. Artie smiled. He knew that, while her work was always challenging, and often stressful, that she loved it. "But enough about me. How is my son doing? Any special ladies in your life?"

"I'm in the midst of pre production on my next film The Reckoning," he told her. "That's taking up most of my time. We are almost done with casting and will be starting filming in a few weeks. I'm up for a Directors Guild award so you may see me on a red carpet on TV this Friday."

"That's wonderful, honey," Nancy told him, smiling. She was so happy to see her son succeeding in life. He had never let his disability restrict him.

"To answer your question though, no I'm not dating anyone."

Nancy frowned. They had this conversation every time they talked. He said more or less the same thing each time for the past few years, but she always remained hopeful.

Artie had been going back, and forth the last couple days about whether he should tell his mother what Quinn and he had been up to. On one hand, Quinn wasn't even pregnant yet. But on the other, it would probably come as less of a shock when it did happen if she at least knew that they were trying. Finally he made his decision.

"There is something that I should probably tell you though," he added. Her facial expressions was piqued in interests.

"You're probably going to become a grandmother soon," he told her matter of factly.

She just stared at him in confusion for several moments, "I thought that you said…"

"Quinn and I have decided to have a baby together," he explained. "But no we aren't dating."

"Wait! What?" Nancy asked. "Start from the beginning. What brought this on?"

"Well," he said. "It all started about a month ago. I went to New York with Quinn to attend her biological daughter Beth's graduation. You remember, Puck got her pregnant in 10th grade and they gave up the baby for adoption to Rachel's biological mother, Shelby Corcoran." Nancy noded.

"Well the whole thing brought up some memories and feelings for both of us," he explained. "I've always wanted to have a kid, and Quinn has always intended to have at least one more child. Neither of us have had a real relationship in several years, and aren't getting any younger. The chances of complications increase the older the mother is, and neither of us really want to be raising a child in our 50's, so we figured that it was now or never. We had a long talk about the specifics of how we want to handle it about a month ago, and have been trying to get pregnant ever since. We're hopeful of success soon."

"That sounds so clinical," she observed.

"Well it kind of is I guess," he admitted. "It's not as if we are actually dating."

"Look," Nancy told him, "you know how much I love Quinn. But is this what you really want? What's going to happen when you meet Miss Right?"

"Mom," he told her. "I think we both know that's not in the cards for me. I'm 36 years old. If that was going to happen, it would have by now."

"That's not true!" Nancy responded, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "Plenty of people meet their spouses in midlife. I know that what happened with Tina upset you-"

"-Mom!" He told her. "This has nothing to do with Tina. She's happily married to Mike. They have been for almost ten years, and they are raising a family together. I'm happy for them!"

"Yes," she responded, "but I think being cheated on twice by the same women scarred you."

"Yeah it did," he admitted. "But this has nothing to do with that. My mistakes with other women were my own. I can't put all of them at Tina's feet!"

"What about Kitty?"

"What about her?"

"The two of you were so good together-" Nancy reminded him.

"-Look, mom, yeah we were," he admitted, "for the relatively short period of time that we were together. I know that the two of you bonded over conspiring to get me to get over my fear of living on my own in the big city or whatever. But she'd already been through so much and I broke her heart twice already. I won't risk doing that again, even assuming she'd be interested! She was living on the east coast the last I'd heard, moving on with with her life. She deserves to be left alone. I thought you liked Quinn?

"Of course I like her!" Nancy exclaimed. "Lucile Quinn Fabray was like a daughter to me-"

"-Then what's your problem!" He asked her. "I thought that you'd be happy for us!"

"It's not a problem. I'm just confused," She answered. "I never knew that you had feelings for each other-"

"-I don't. We don't. That's the beauty of this," he answered. "There is no emotional relationship drama."

"Artie there is always drama…."

"Why can't you support me on this?" He asked

"Arthur James Abrams," she told him, using his full name and making eye contact to make sure that he knew that she was extremely serious. "I always have and always will support you in everything that you do. I'm just kind of confused about this and don't want to see you get hurt!"

"I'm not going to get hurt," he reassured her.

"I hope you're right," she told him softly.

They spent the next half hour or so discussing the specifics of Artie and Quinn's plan, and a few other assorted things before finally saying goodbye.

# # # # # #

Quinn was laying on the couch reading Variety online on her iPad when she heard her cel phone ring. She reached for it sitting on a nearby table. When she looked at the screen she saw that it said 'Incoming Call from Franny'

Quinn smiled. She'd left a message on her sister's voicemail earlier that day asking her to call her back. Quinn hadn't really talked to her family much in recent years and wasn't sure how they were going to take her decision to have another baby. Franny Johnson (née Fabray) was four and a half years older than Quinn. She'd moved out, started attending college, and gotten married before Quinn had gotten pregnant, and the family drama between their parents and Quinn had started. As a result, while they lead different lives and had kind of grown apart over the years, their relationship really hadn't been affected by her first pregnancy the way her relationships with her parents had been. Quinn figured that she'd be the easiest one to approach first about her plans to become a mother.

Quinn smiled, set the iPad aside, and hit the answer key

"Hey sis," she began, "thanks for calling me back! How have you been?"

"Yeah," Franny answered, "it's been a while!"

"Sorry about that," Quinn told her.

"It's not your fault," Franny told her sister. "Either of us could have initiated contact. We are both really busy with our lives. Is that why you called, just to catch up? Your message sounded like you had something specific on your mind."

"No," Quinn admitted nervously. "I was just going to kind of ease into this…"

"Okay," Franny said, realizing that something was definitely up. "Talk to me, little sis. What's going on? You don't need to be nervous."

"I know we haven't been exactly close in a long time," Quinn told her older sister apprehensively.

"That doesn't matter," Franny said, starting to get nervous herself. "I'm your sister and I love you! You can talk to me about anything." What was in her sister's mind that had her so agitated? "What's wrong?"

"Um," she began, "you remember Artie Abrams right?"

"Of course I remember A.J. Abrams," Franny responded. "I used to babysit the two of you when you were little, and I gather the two of you are still close. I see you on TV and Red Carpet events at least twice a year!"

"He hasn't gone by A.J. In a long time," Quinn told her.

"Old habits die hard," Franny said, laughing. "It took me forever to stop calling you Lucy."

"Anyway," Quinn said, bringing them back on topic, "I'm not really sure how to tell you this or know how you're going to react-"

"-Just tell me!" Franny said.

"-We're … We're going to have a child together," Quinn finally spat out.

"You're pregnant?" Franny exclaimed. "That's great!"

"Not yet," Quinn told her, "But we've been trying for about a month, and hope to be successful soon."

"Wow," Franny said. "Who would have thought that you two childhood friends would have ended up together, especially after we moved and you were separated for four years!"

"You understand that we aren't in a relationship with each other, right?" Quinn reminded her sister.

"Yeah," Franny said, "I understand. But whether you're in a relationship or not, having a child will permanently intertwine your lives together. As long as you've known each other, it makes sense that you'd choose each other for this."

"Yeah," Quinn admitted, "You're taking this news better than I expected."

"Why wouldn't I?" Franny wanted to know. "If it makes you happy, then I'm all for it! And from everything I know about him, my future niece or nephew's father is a really great guy!"

"I'm so glad to hear you say that," Quinn said, relieved. "And yeah he is!"

"What?" Franny asked. "You didn't expect me to be all judgemental like mom and dad were when you got pregnant at sixteen, did you?"

"Not so much expect," Quinn admitted, sheepishly. "But honestly, there was a definite fear."

"Oh, Quinny," Franny said, "You don't know we very well. I can see we need to make a specific effort to talk to and see each other a lot more than we have! I would never treat you the way they did! Ever!"

"I am so relieved to hear you say that," Quinn said, relief washing over her, "because my friends are great, but I think I'm going to need my sister's support on this!"

"I've got your back little sis," Franny said. "Whatever you need, I'm here for you, even if I'm living in Ohio."

"Thank you so much," Quinn said. After a few moments of silence, Quinn added. "I'm almost afraid to ask you this. But how do you think mom and dad will react? As nervous as I was telling you, I'm terrified of telling them."

"Well," Franny said, taking a moment to give it some thought. "I think it will be a shock to them. I know from little things that they have let slip here and there that they don't expect you to have any more children.

"But after getting over the initial shock of it, I think mom will accept it, and eventually get very excited about it. I've never really told you this, because I thought that it was a sensitive subject, but she has been very excited every time one of my kids was born, and has taken the time to spend time with each of them. Dad has too, but given the history between you two and the fact that you've never completely recovered from when he kicked you out, it's a really big question mark. I really don't know how he'll react. But if it will help, I'll go with you when you tell them."

"I may take you up on that," Quinn told her.

The two sisters continued to talk for the next hour and a half about Franny's husband and kids, as well as Quinn's relationship with and plans with Artie, before finally hanging up.

# # # # #

That evening at dinner, as usual, Quinn and Artie talked about their respective days.

"How did your talk with your mom go?" Quinn asked in between bites. She knew that he'd been excited to talk to his mother.

"Pretty good," he told her, but his tone wasn't that convincing.

Quinn gave him a perplexed look. Generally he was pretty excited after talking to his mom. "Just good?" She asked.

"I started out excited to talk to her," he admitted. "But I have to admit that I was bummed when I found out that she wasn't as excited as I'd hoped when I told her about us trying to have a baby." Quinn's expression changed to that of genuine confusion. She'd always experienced nothing but complete support from Mrs. Abrams. "Oh don't worry, she's still supportive. She just doesn't understand why we are doing this."

Quinn reached across the table and placed her hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry Artie," she told him. "I know how important your relationship with her is."

"I just wish she could understand how import this is to both of us," he signed.

"I'm sure she will in time," Quinn told him. "Do you think it would help if I talked to her?"

"No," Artie said, "I'm sure it was just the initial shock. She will warm up to the idea."

"Well if it makes you feel any better," Quinn said, with a smile, "When I told Franny about it, she was thrilled. I didn't see that coming at all!"

"That's great!" He said.

"I think this is actually going to bring us closer," Quinn gushed. "We've decided that we've grown too far apart and wand for rectify that. She's actually going to come visit us in a couple weeks."

"I'm happy for you," Artie said but then abruptly changed the subject, "I have to get my tux dry cleaned for the Directors Guild Awards this Friday. You're still attending with me, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" She told him. "I've grown quite fond of our Hollywood Event 'dates'."

"If you have a dress that needs dry cleaning," he told her, "just leave it out and I'll take it with me when I drop mine off in the morning on the way to the studio."

"Okay," she noded. "On a more serious note, we've been trying to get pregnant for over a month now. I think it would be a good idea to go see our doctors this week and make sure everything is okay medically."

"Okay," he said, slightly surprised that she was mentioning this again so soon. He really didn't think it was that unusual for couples to be trying to have a baby this long or even longer. He didn't get the sense of urgency. But he wanted to make her happy, and it wouldn't hurt to be checked out. "Do you want to make the appointments," he asked. They went to the same medical practice, "or should I?"

"I can do it," she said, "I'm sure you'll be busy tomorrow, and I should have plenty of time I'm between auditions, and I have access to your Google Calendar."

"Yeah," he said, and continued to wonder, not for the first time, why she was in such a rush.

# # # # # #

Monday Morning Artie was filled with apprehension as he wheeled himself into the production office.

He had barely begun to remove his papers and iPad from his bag, when Antonio wasted no time getting down to business.

"So," Antonio asked, "do we have a Donna?"

Artie knew full well that this was Antonio's way of asking weather Artie had talked to Quinn or not. He decided to answer the question indirectly.

"I spent a good chunk of Saturday making a list of possibilities," he began, "and have emails and calls out to about half of them, inviting them to schedule an audition this week."

"But no Quinn," Antonio inferred from his non answer.

"No Quinn," Artie confirmed, with a sigh.

"Dammit Abrams!" Antonio shouted. "I gave you a very specific instruction, and I expected it to be followed."

"I understand that," Artie told him. "But as I've already told you, in my judgment as a director, and as her friend, this role isn't right for her-"

"-I don't give a damn what you think," Antonio interrupted, shocking Artie, who had always had a very pleasant working relationship with Antonio, "There is a lot of money riding on this movie, and we are running out of time to cast this role! If we weren't so close to production-"

"Last Friday you told me that the deadline to cast this roles was this Friday," Artie responded. "I have a list of possibilities here, and am positive that we will find our Donna on this list of twelve names."

Antonio could see that Artie wasn't going to back down, and it would be way more expensive to replace Artie as director than a possible delay in filming the Donna scenes if they didn't have her cast by the time they started filming, so he finally answered with, "You had better be right," and reached for the list Artie was handing him.

Artie, Antonio, and Linda spent most of the rest of the day scheduling appointments with the remaining women on Artie's list and auditioning two of the women who had gotten back to them. The day was productive, but the tension between Antonio and Artie was thick.

# # # # #

Tuesday afternoon, Quinn was walking out of an audition when hispanic looking man approached her.

"Excuse me," he greeted her, extending his hand to shake her hand, "are you Quinn Fabray?"

"Yes," she answered, shaking his hand, "yes I am."

"My name is Antonio Juarez," the man told her, offering her a business card. "I'm the executive producer on a film titled The Reckoning, with Paramount."

"That's Artie's movie," she said.

"Yes," he confirmed, "Arthur Abrams is our director. Anyway, my Casting Director Linda Schwartz, and I think that you'd be perfect for the role of Donna in our film, and would like you to audition."

He handed her some papers containing the sample scenes for the role. "We'd love you to take a look at these sides and schedule an audition, if you're interested." He held out his business card.

She got a very confused look, "That's odd," she told him, "Artie didn't say anything about this." In fact, Artie had specifically said that she wasn't right for the part they were casting. Why would he lie to her like that?

"Yes," Antonio said, "I'm afraid I have to admit to a bit of creative differences on that. Both Artie and your agent were reluctant to bring this opportunity to you for some reason, necessitating this rather unorthodox introduction. I saw that there were auditions here today for another role that you might be right for, and took a chance on seeing you here."

He offered her his card again, and this time she took it, a confused look on her face.

# # # # #

When Quinn got home she began studying the pages Antonio had given her, and with each passing read through, she began to get angrier and angrier with her friend Artie. Antonio was right, the part seemed perfect for her. Why would he withhold the role from her. They'd worked together many times, so it wasn't a fear of mixing business with friendship.

When Artie rolled through the door, smiling, she was fuming.

"Hey Quinn," he said, "how was your day? Any luck with any of your auditi-"

He stopped mid sentence when he saw the look on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

In response she held up the pages Antonio had given her.

"Where did you get that?" He asked.

"Antonio Juarez approached me when I was leaving another audition this morning," she answered. "I don't understand how you could do this to me! This role seems perfect to me and you not only didn't tell me about it, but you lied to me. I thought that we were friends and that you had my back!"

"Quinn," he began, not sure where to start. This was the last thing he expected to come home to. Antonio was a real piece of work. "It's like I said before, the role is all wrong for you-"

"-That's bullshit, Artie," she retorted, "I've been reading these sides all afternoon, the role seems to be written with me in mind! After everything we've been through, I thought I knew you better than that!"

She ran off into her bedroom, buried her pillow and began to cry.

"Shit!" Artie shouted into the empty room.

# # # # #

That evening, no matter how much he tried, Artie couldn't coax Quinn out of her room, or get a response out of her other than a tearful "Leave me alone!" Or angry "Go away!"

That night for the first time in weeks, Quinn sleep in her own bed, and Artie was treated to a very cold shoulder the following morning at Breakfast.

# # # # #

Wednesday morning Artie was working at his desk at the studio when Santana walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey," she turned told him, waving her copy of the script at him. "I just wanted to stop by and say thanks again for the part! I'm really looking forward to sinking my acting teeth into it. It should really look nice on my resume and reel. I know it wasn't entirely up to you, but I'm sure your opinion made a lot of difference."

In fact, the decision had been unanimous, but Artie simply said, "You're welcome. I'm sure you'll do great."

"So how's Q?" Santana asked. "I haven't had the chance to talk to her since the four of us had diner."

"Actually," he told her with a frown, "she's kinda pissed at me right now?

"Why?" Santana asked, a puzzled look on her face.

"Antonio and I had a difference of opinion, and he went around me and asked her to audition for a role that I don't think she's right for," he told her.

"What role?" She asked.

"Donna," the answered.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"That's not even remotely right for her," Santana marveled.

"Like I tried to tell her."

"Has she read the script?"

"Antonio gave her some sides," Artie answered.

"Yeah," Santana said, "But has she seen the entire script?"

"Not that I'm aware of," he said. "Antonio is really pushing her to audition. We don't typically share the entire script until we've officially offered someone the part."

"Hmm..," Santa said.

# # # # #

Wednesday afternoon and evening Quinn continued to give Artie the cold shoulder, and that night Quinn once again she slept alone in her own bed.

# # # # #

Thursday Quinn and Santana had lunch together.

"How's it going Santana," Quinn asked her friend, greeting her with a hug.

"Good," Santana told her.

The two of them sat down and a waitress arrived to take their drink orders and food orders. Once the waitress left, Santana wasted no time getting down to business.

"So how's the baby making going with Wheels?" She asked.

"I think that's on hold for now," Quinn said, sadly.

"Why?" Santana asked, surprised, "because you had a fight?"

"You know about that?" Quinn asked, clearly surprised.

"You know I was cast in the role of Delia in the film right?" Quinn noded. "Well I was in the office yesterday filling out paperwork, and getting my measurements taken for wardrobe. I stopped by his desk on my way out and he said something about it," Santana answered. "I was hoping to hear our side…"

"There's not much to tell," Quinn said, angrily. "Basically, not only has he been holding out on me, but he lied to me. I thought he had my back. He knew that I've been struggling to find work, and that I was going to need to increase my income soon to replace my dwindling savings, and pay my share of the baby expenses. There's a prefect role in this movie for me, but he not only didn't tell me about it, but he actively tried to block them from offering it to me! I thought I knew him, but no I'm not sure I do anymore!"

"The role of Donna?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Quinn responded enthusiastically.

"Quinn," Santana said, "have you actually read The Reckoning?"

"That Antonio gut gave me several sides," Quinn answered, "and I have an appointment for an audition with Antonio and Linda this afternoon."

"Look I don't want to get in the middle of your fight," Santana admitted with a sigh, "but I actually agree with Artie on this."

Quinn got a shocked look on her face.

"Read the entire script, Q!" Santana said, producing her copy from her bag and laying it on the table between them. "Judge for yourself. Pay special attention to scenes 73, 96, and 116. I've bookmarked them for you. Remember when Lady Hummel begged us to come to New York and talk Rachel out of doing that student film?"

"Yeah," Quinn said, starting to get the picture.

"Well," Santana told her, pushing the script across the table to her. "That was tame compared to this. I'll support you whatever you decide. But I think you should have all of the facts first before you make a final decision. And try not to judge Wheels too harshly. It's actually pretty sweet that he thinks he needs to protect you."

# # # # #

Artie was sitting at the kitchen table going over some of his notes when he heard Quinn enter. It had been a long day at the studio. They had finally finalized the cast last list and chosen a second choice for Donna in case Quinn decided not to take the role or they decided she wasn't right after all. Artie was still deeply upset about the whole deal and left for the day before Quinn was scheduled to arrive for her audition. He didn't think he'd be able to keep from arguing with them during her audition, so he recused himself.

He was so distracted that he didn't even hear her come in and practically jumped when he felt a pair of soft arms embracing him.

"I feel like such a fool, Artie," Quinn told him. "I can't believe that I thought that about you and said those things about you! You've been my friend for thirty years and you have always had my back. I should have known that you wouldn't just betray me. Please forgive me!

"I can forgive you anything," Artie said. "You're my best friend. You really hurt my feelings though."

"I know," Quinn continued, hugging him tighter. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me."

He turned his chair around and tugged her into his lap, holding her close.

"I've known that you set you professional boundaries back when you started your career. You would not do nudity or simulated sex. That's definitely limited you in your career, but you've also ended up doing less, but more meaningful roles." Quinn nodded. "I knew that the role of Donna wasn't right for you for that reason. I didn't tell Antonio or Linda that because I knew they would just try to talk you into it anyway, and maybe offer you more money, which I know you think you need."

"I wish you had trusted my enough to let me make that decision myself," she told him.

"It was never about trust, Quinn," he told her. "I just know how persuasive Antonio can be.

"When Antonio decided to push the issue, I had every intention of talking to you about it. But when I came home, and you were paying bills and worrying about money, I panicked. I thought that if they sensed any opportunity to take advantage of you they would take it.

"I should have known he wouldn't let go so easily. I've seen him use his powers of persuasion before on others. I just thought he respected me enough to not to do that to me. I was obviously wrong."

"Why would you work with someone like that?" Quinn asked.

"There are a lot of people in Hollywood like that, Quinn. Making movies makes a lot of money and money heavily motivates people, drawing the worst out of them. It changes people. I risked my job sticking up to him."

"He could fire you?" She asked, surprised. Suddenly she started to feel a twinge of guilt.

"He's the Executive Producer," Artie reminded her. "I'm the Director. He absolutely could have fired me. He stopped short of actually threatening to, but the implication was clearly there.

"That's why I wasn't at the audition. I was afraid that I would say something that I would regret if I witnessed it."

He gestures to his notes. "I've been going through the script trying to come up with reasonable excuses for dropping those objectionable scenes," he told her. "The shower scene we could maybe lose, but the sex scene and death scenes are pretty integral to the story."

"I don't understand why you chose this film to with on in the first place," she said. "It doesn't seem like your kind of project at all."

"Money, Quinn," he answered. "It's great to choose your projects wisely. But ultimately we have bills to pay and it diversifies my resume. This project is changing and paying me very well. Working behind the lense doesn't carry the stigma for a director that it does for an actress. It's Horror/Sci Fi movie, so it's expected that it's going to have at least one gratuitous shower scene. It's like a requirement or something. I just didn't want it to be someone who isn't completely comfortable with it."

"Well you don't need to worry," Quinn told him. "I actually cancelled my audition after Santana let me read her script over lunch. Antonio was disappointed, of course, but he said that they would ultimately give the role to their second choice."

"Beatrix McClain," Artie told her. "She attended NYADA with Rachel and has a similar look to you, and was actually really excited about the role when we audition her yesterday."

"That's good," Quinn said.

"So," Artie said, changing the subject, "We've missed two days of possible baby making time." She smiled. "You interested in playing catch up?" He gave her a mischievous grin.

"Of course," she said.

"Okay," he said, kissing her on the cheek and he began wheeling her to the bedroom

# # # # #

Friday morning Quinn and Artie sat together in the doctor's office as doctor Joseph Roberts addressed them.

"We've given you both a complete physical," Dr. Roberts told them. "We are still waiting on that blood and urine work of course, but as near as we can tell, there is nothing medically wrong with either of you that would prevent conception."

"Then why are we having such a hard time conceiving?!" Quinn asked, clearly very frustrated. "I got pregnant literally my first time having sex back in high school! Why is it so difficult now?"

"Well," the doctor said, "not to be insensitive, but that was a long time ago. You're not sixteen anymore, Quinn."

Quinn, nodded, acknowledging his point.

"The older you get the fewer eggs you have, and the less likely for conception to occur," he added. "Your first pregnancy was a natural delivery, and we weren't able to see any scarring of your uterus during your gynecological exam that would complicate a fertilized egg implanting on the uterine wall. So that's good."

"So you're saying that you can't find anything wrong with me?" Quinn asked, frustrated. This would be so much easier if there was something that they could identify and treat.

"As I said, we are still waiting on blood work and urinalysis," the doctor said, "but yes, so far we have found nothing medically wrong with you."

Quinn bowed her head in disappointment and Artie lay his hand on her shoulder in support.

"What about me," Artie asked, quietly.

"Well," the doctor answered, "there are no records of you ever reported any sexual dysfunction before in your records other than the brief bout of impotence a couple weeks ago that you reported, which is completely normal. Nonetheless, it's not uncommon for men in with your injuries to by sterile or have problems conceiving.

"We'll let you know about your bloodwork and urine samples," the doctor said, "but if you wouldn't mind providing another sample as well."

He handed Artie a small cup labeled "Abrams, Arthur J - Seamen Sample."

"I'll leave the two of you alone to collect that," he said, excusing himself from the room. "We'll let you know about the test results next week."

And with that the two of them were left alone in the exam room.

# # # # # # #

Author's Endnote: And at long last this story had finally been updated. I'm excited about this story again after revisiting the outline. What was originally planned to be a nine chapter story is now fourteen. I've also gone back and updated the text of the previous chapters today (4/30/17) with typo fixes and other minor corrections.

As before, if you like what you're seeing and want to see me continue (sadly so few of us are still writing fanfic), please take a few moments to give me a review. It keeps me motivated.


	5. Paparazzi

Quartie Ever After

Chapter 5: Paparazi

By Wilde Abrams

Author's Notes: Once again, thank you to all of the readers who are reading and reviewing this story. I can't emphasize that last part enough. Reviews - even the ones that are only a few words - are what keep a writer going! So, please take a few moments and tell me what you think! Also feel free to offer some suggestions if you're feeling so inclined.

DISCLAIMER: This chapter and the ones after it contain discussion about the specifics of adult sexual relationship. While it is not in any way considered 'smut' such discussion may make some readers uncomfortable, so be prepared for that.

Like all of my work, the thrust of the story is the emotional relationships, but I can not properly tell this story without delving into some of the specifics.

I hope you like the new chapter and let me know if I should continue by posting a review!

# # # # #

Quinn and Artie returned from the doctor's office just after noon, and upon checking their voicemails, each had urgent messages.

"Franny's going to come visit us on Monday," Quinn squealed in joy. "I hope you don't mind but I told her she could stay with us, since it's just going to be her."

"Yeah," he responded, clearly distracted, "That's fine."

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked, picking up on the fact that something was definitely up.

"I just got a voicemail from Antonio," Artie answered.

Quinn got an 'Oh, God' look on her face.

"Beatrix McClane is out," he said flatly. "She balked at the role when she saw the full script for the sex scene, and the studio executives didn't like her screen test."

Quinn sat down on his lap and gave him a sad, concerned look. "What...what does that mean?"

"It means," he told her, "that we are back to square one. Next week we are supposed to be working on wardrobe, makeup and other pre production details with the cast, begin rehearsals the following week, and begin Principal Photography the week after that. Every day that we don't have a person to play Donna is going to cost the studio money. Antonio isn't happy!"

"And?" She asked, sensing that there was more.

"And," Artie told her, "Antonio wants me to approach you again. He's given me until Monday afternoon to convince you to take the role."

# # # # #

Quinn and Artie spent most of the afternoon going through videos and and resumes looking for someone, anyone who might be interested in playing Donna with no real luck. They only found a couple remote possibilities and jotted them down.

Around 3:30 they had to give up for the day in order to get ready for the Directors Guild Awards ceremony. Quinn left to get her hair done by a local hair salon, and Artie used her absence to take a shower and get dressed in his tuxedo. Quinn returned an hour later with her new hairstyle. Her hair was short and up just above her shoulders. She went into her bedroom and changed into her shimmering blue dress, high heels, and highlighted it all with tasteful makeup and jewelry.

"Wow," Artie said when he saw her, "You look gorgeous, Quinn."

"You don't look so bad yourself," she told him, her hazel eyes shimmering as she bent over and straightened his tie, followed by a quick kiss on the cheek.

She pulled out her mirror to check her makeup quickly before they heard a knock on the door. The limo driver was there. Artie took Quinn's hand and they went out to the limo for the ride to the event.

# # # # #

The limo ride was relatively quiet as they rode the forty minutes to the award ceremony venue. When it was their turn, the limo pulled up before the red carpet. An aid open the rear door of the limo and produced Artie's collapsed wheelchair. He expanded it and positioned it so Artie could exit the limo and transfer to the waiting chair. The aid and Quinn helped him as necessary and the whole thing worked relatively smoothly. This wasn't Artie's first Red Carpet event.

Once he was situated, Artie took Quinn's hand and the two of them took their turn before the cameras, smiling and briefly holding hands since she couldn't exactly take his arm without bending over.

After the photographers had taken their pictures, Artie lead Quinn into the auditorium.

# # # # #

The event itself was actually rather long and boring, as these things tended to be. Several presenters talked, and musical groups performed, before the awards presentation itself began.

The presenter began to read the names nominated for Best Up And Coming Director. This was the award that Artie was nominated for, but he was convinced that there was no way that he had a chance. "There are a lot of talented people nominated this year," he'd told her.

When Artie's name was listed Quinn lay her head down on his shoulder, and whispered "I'm so proud of you!"

On stage, the presenter open the envelope and read, "And the winner is…Arthur Abrams!"

Suddenly the cameras were on them. Quinn jerked her head back up, screamed with glee, and quickly gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Artie was stunned and didn't start to react until Quinn nudged him with her elbow and he began wheeling toward the stage.

He rolled up to the stage and gave his speech, thanking the appropriate people, and returned to his seat with the mini statue he'd won. Once again Quinn hugged him, and they settled in to watch the presentation of the other awards throughout the remainder of the ceremony.

The rest of the night passed in a blur as Artie sat there with this enormous geeky grin on his face, still not believing that he'd won. Quinn sat next to him, and looped her arm in his for the rest of the ceremony.

After the ceremony itself, Artie sat and took the expected questions from the reporters, Quinn at his side until finally returning to the limousine for the ride back to their apartment.

They were so tired from the long day that they didn't notice the photographer snapping photos from some nearby bushes.

# # # # #

The following morning Quinn and Artie were snuggled up in bed after another round of attempted baby making - and a little celebrating Artie's award - when they were awoken by a phone call. Quin's phone was ringing and and she lazily reached for it on the nightstand. In addition to the incoming phone call, she could see that she'd missed a whole bunch of text messages.

She tapped answer and, hazily answered, "Hey Santana, what's up?"

"So it sounds like you and Wheels had a good time at the DGA awards ceremony last night," her friend said with a bemused tone.

"Yeah," Quinn answered, not picking up on the tone in her friend's voice, "Artie won the award for Best Up And Coming Director, isn't it great!"

"Yeah," Santana said, sensing that Quinn hadn't picked up on what she was getting at. "You haven't read today's TMZ yet have you?"

"You know I don't read that trash!" Quinn told her, yawning. "You shouldn't either, after the way they tried to ruin Mercedes' engagement a few years back with their articles insinuating that there was still something between Sam and her. Besides, we haven't even gotten out of bed yet."

"Q," Santana said, with concern in her voice, "You really need to read today's issue."

She'd inadvertently given Santana an opportunity to let out a real zinger with her comment about still being in bed with Artie, and she hadn't taken it. That got her attention, and suddenly she was fully awake. She tapped the speakerphone icon, dropped the phone onto the bed between Artie and herself, sat up and reached for the iPad that Artie left on his bedside table. Artie, picking up that something was up, sat up and looked over her shoulder as she pulled up the TMZ website.

They were greeted by the headline: 'Best Up And Coming Director Getting A Little Cozy With Starlet' along with a giant picture of Quinn laying her head on Artie's shoulder moments before his award was announced.

"Crap!" Quinn said.

Below that was the sub headline reading: "Is struggling actress Quinn Fabray desperate enough to sleep her way to the top?"

"What?!" Artie exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

The full page article went on to insinuate that Quinn was using her relationship with Artie to gain a role in one of his films, and featured several pictures of the two of them taken the night before, including close ups of the two of them holding hands, she giving him a kiss on the cheek, and the two of them entering their apartment the night before after bringing dropped off.

"That was all taken out of context and completely innocent," Quinn exclaimed

"If you say so," Santana replied, bemused.

"It is!" Artie added.

"I know it is," Santana responded, seriously, "I just couldn't resist going for the reaction. I'm sorry.

"Oh my God," Quinn said.

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news," Santana said, "but I wanted to make sure that you saw it so you could address it."

"Thank you Santana," Artie said. "We appreciate the heads up."

Santana hung up and Quinn turned to Artie, with tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh my God, Artie," she said. "I'm so sorry!"

"For what?" He wanted to know.

"For ruining your award!" She answered, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"You didn't ruin anything," he told her, softly.

"Yes I did," she responded. "You should have been able to remember last night as one or the greatest nights of your life. Now you're going to have to remember this!" She pointed at the picture on the iPad, bitterly.

"It WAS one of the best nights of my life," Artie said sweetly. "I won a really nice award, and I got to share the experience with my best friend." He reached over and dried her tears with his fingers.

"You're so sweet," she told him. "I've always been kind of touchy feely with the people I care about. People who don't know me that well sometimes get the wrong idea. I should have been more cautious about my body language. I was just so proud of you... I don't deserve you."

"That's ridiculous," Artie said. "Of course you do! Look, this is just one article. We've been in the tabloids before. It's always blown over in the past." He paused for a moment, looking her in the eye, before adding, "I'm more concerned about their character assassination of you!"

"It's my own fault," she told him. "I'll just have to deal with the consequences."

He learned in and gave her a hug, telling her, "it's no one's fault."

The two of them turned to Google to determine how much damage the article had done. Hopefully not much.

But they soon realized that it wasn't just one article. When Quinn and Artie began searching the internet, they found a half a dozen other tabloids, and gossip sites running similar articles and pictures. They were shocked. They had been the target of tabloid gossip before, but it was always isolated articles that read a little too much into the fact that they always attended these events together or whatever, but they always faded away in a day or two. This was the most elaborate article ever written about them, flat out stated some very unsavory things, and they could tell that this wasn't just going to go away.

Over the next hour or two, they each got a multitude of messages and phone calls from their friends and family members wondered what was up, as well as their respective agents wondering what to tell the press when asked.

Just when they thought that it couldn't get any worse, Antonio called, summoning the two of them to a meeting with the studio execs.

# # # # #

At 2:00 PM that afternoon Quinn and Artie arrived on the lot for their meeting. Antonio stood as they entered the room. He shook each of their hands. He presented Steve Winkler from the studio who also shook their hands. Linda, the Casting Director was also present.

"I assume you know why we are all here?" Antonio began.

"I don't know why you bothered to invite me," Quinn told them. "There's no way I am taking this role. As I told you before, I don't do nudity or simulated sex, and-"

"-I'm afraid you don't understand," Steve interjected, "We can't cast you now, even if you were willing."

Both Artie and Quinn gave each other confused looks.

"Really," Artie asked, "why?"

In response Antonio produced a paper copy of the morning's TMZ. "This is why," he told them. "If we cast you in this movie, it would cast a negative shadow over the whole production, and that could cost us money down the line."

"That's all you care about," Quinn asked, incredulously, "money?"

"Of course!" Antonio yelled, "You're intelligent. You've been in Hollywood for a long time Ms. Fabray. You should know by now that the purpose of all of this," he gestured all around them, "is to make money!"

"If you don't want me for the role," Quinn asked, "then what am I doing here?"

"The purpose of this meeting," Steve answered, "is to figure out how to spin this," he gestured to the paper, "to minimize the damage to the film."

"And Artie's and my reputations?" Quinn asked.

"Mr. Abrams's definitely," Antonio said. "Not so concerned about yours."

"So you don't care that the tabloids paint me as a whore!" Quinn exclaimed, "as long as it doesn't hurt your precious movie?"

"If the shoe fits!" Antonio responded.

"How dare you!" Quinn yelled.

Suddenly Antonio and Quinn were on their feet, and Artie would have been too, if he weren't confined to a wheelchair. All three of them were shouting.

"ENOUGH!" Steve exclaimed. "Sit down. Both of you!"

Everyone slowly sat down and calmed down.

"There," Steve said, "thank you. What we need is some sort of explanation about what happened last night."

"It's really not that complicated," Quinn told him. "Artie and I have been friends and roommates for a long time. A few years back we just decided that it was mutually beneficial to attend these Hollywood events together since we tended to attend the same ones and live together-"

"-You live together?" Antonio exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Because it's really none of your business," Artie told him.

"Anyway," Quinn added, "we always attend these together. It has nothing to do with this film. We enjoy it and it's convenient. He's one of my closest friends, and sometimes I get a little carried away when I show affection. My head was on his shoulder because I'd just whispered how proud of him I was over his nomination. The cameras just caught us at the most inopportune time. The other pictures were just taken out of context.

"Now," Quinn said, locking eyes with Antonio, "I'm only going to say this once so listen closely. I have never, nor would I ever, sleep with anyone for a role. Artie and I are just friends, close friends to be sure, and I have worked with him several times over the years. I have never known him to be anything but a consummate professional when directing. I've seen more than one actress try to throw themselves at him, but they have never gotten anything in exchange for it."

"So," Artie chimed in, "if you're done assassinating our characters, can we go now?"

"I think," Steve answered for Antonio, "that we've got enough information here to draft a statement on this. We'll send a copy to Mr. Abrams within the hour, and if it's acceptable we will have it released by our PR Department."

"Thank you," Artie said.

The two of them turned and left.

# # # # #

Artie and Quinn were walking in silence, taking their time getting to their car when Linda, the Casting Director approached them. Linda had been surprisingly silent during the meeting.

"Excuse me," Linda said softly as she approached them.

Quinn and Artie slowed down allowing the tall, long legged, African American woman to catch up with them.

"What is it that you need, Linda?" Artie asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Actually," Linda responded, "I was wondering if I could talk to Miss Fabray about something?"

Artie and Quinn stopped and gave each other a confused look. "Sure," Quinn said, not looking away from Artie.

"I just wanted to say how much I admire you standing up for your principles like that," she told them.

Quinn and Artie turned to face her. "In my line of work I've seen plenty of actors and actresses willing to do anything for a role. Even though it's making my job a lot harder, I just wanted to say that it's very refreshing to meet someone who is willing to stick to their principles, even under pressure."

"Wow," Quinn responded. That was the last thing she'd expected to hear. "Um, thanks."

"Unfortunately Antonio does not agree with you on that," Artie told her.

"Antonio is an ass!" Linda responded. "You should know that but now."

"I didn't," Artie responded, "until this mess!"

"Anyway," Linda responded. "I have to get back to the office and keep searching for an actress to play Donna, but I just wanted to let you know that I support you, and if I ever work on any projects that are right for you, I'll let you know."

"Thanks," Artie and Quinn said together, and watched as Linda headed back to the office.

# # # # #

Artie and Quinn had just gotten back to their apartment when Quinn got a phone call from Mercedes inviting them over for dinner, an invitation that they happily accepted. It had been a long, eventful day, and both of them liked the idea of relaxing evening with their friend. Mercedes' husband Michael was out of town, so it would be just the three of them.

Steve had keep his word and emailed Artie a copy of the statement regarding the TMZ article. It was short and to the point. Both Artie and Quinn had approved of the wording and Artie had messaged them back to go ahead.

# # # # #

Around 4:30 Quinn and Artie arrived at Mercedes' door and were greeted with hugs. Mercedes also made sure to congratulate Artie on his award.

Over the past fifteen years Mercedes' career had really taken off. After struggling with two different agents and record labels, she'd finally found one that supported her vision. Shortly afterward she'd been hired to be Beyonce's opening act for her 2015 World Tour, and been contracted to do her third album and the rest was history. She'd married her husband Michael a few months before her thirtieth birthday and currently resided in a home that reminded Quinn more of the home she'd grown up in than the middle class home she'd known when she'd briefly lived with Mercedes' family during the final few weeks of her pregnancy. Mercedes had a chauffeur, maid, cook, and even a butler, but tried to keep herself grounded by continuing to do some mundane things like answer her own door when possible.

She lead them into the living room and gestured for Quinn to have a seat. Artie parked his wheelchair next to the couch where Quinn had chosen to sit and smoothly transferred himself out of it next to Quinn. She'd offered each of them a glass of wine, which they had accepted.

"So it sounds like the two of you had an interesting day," Mercedes started after everyone had taken a sip.

"That's one way to put it," Artie began. "We've been lucky so far that we haven't attracted too much attraction from the tabloids. I suppose we were due. How do you deal with it?"

"Well, now I have a publicist, and I'm proactive with letting the public know what's going on. I've also had to be more guarded about what I say and do in public. My staff have also all signed non disclosure agreements.

"But as you may recall, it hasn't always been this way. Before I opened for Beyoncé no one much cared about who I was or what I was doing. But that changed overnight when I was opening for a headliner.

"Suddenly the paparazzi were following me around, snooping into everything, asking questions. At first I was pretty open about things. But before long they began prying into my personal life. Suddenly I was apparently dating every guy or girl I was seen being alone with. They got the wrong idea about Sam giving me a hug one time and insisted that he was my secret boyfriend. One even went snooping around Lima and interviewed my ex boyfriend Shane and shamed me for cheating on him with Sam."

"That's terrible, Mercedes," Quinn said. She could only imagine what it would be like if someone began snooping into the details of her life from her days at McKinley. She had done a lot of terrible and embarrassing things back then.

"When I got engaged to Michael," Mercedes continued, "but still talked to Sam and others they started an online poll as to how long it would be before I cheated on him too. Finally the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, was when TMZ posted an article flat out stating that I had cheated on Michael with Sam, citing an unnamed former employee of mine as a source. Michael was not amused."

"I can imagine not," Artie said.

"That was when I finally got a lawyer, and had to sue their butts off!" She told them. "I've gotten to the point where I am proactive with things and watch what I do and say in public now, so I'm not as interesting as I was before. Most of the stuff they say now is minor and can be safely ignored, and I try to do just that. But if someone crosses a line, my lawyers seed out a letter and they almost always back off or recant their allegations. Just the threat of a lawsuit is usually enough."

"That's great, Mercedes," Artie said. "But do you have any specific advice for us?"

"Well," Mercedes said, "I doubt you actually need a lawyer. But you really do need to think about how the things you say and do are perceived. You also can't just ignore the TMZ article."

"We aren't," Quinn said. "We had a meeting with Artie's producer and a guy from the studio this afternoon."

"Here's a copy of the statement that the studio PR department is releasing," Artie added, handing her his phone.

Mercedes took it from his hand and read it.

"This is good," She said, handing it back to him. "But unless you want to be spending all of your time reacting to stuff like this, you need to get proactive. The fallout from last night could have been avoided."

"How?" Artie wanted to know.

"Well the biggest thing," Mercedes answered, "is you need to pay attention to how you are perceived. I know you guys keep insisting that you're just friends, but you really need to watch your body language. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you were dating." She gestured to the fact that they were absently holding hands. "People get the wrong idea about that kind of thing. You really need to watch that in public." Suddenly they broke hands. "The two of you came off as being very affectionate last night. Laying your head on his shoulder, kissing his cheek, holding hands. Just the look you give each other. All of those sent a message that you don't want to be sending.

"Have you figured out what you're going to tell the press when you get pregnant?" Mercedes asked. "You ARE still trying to have a kid, right?"

"Yes," Quinn said bitterly, "but at this rate it may not become an issue anytime soon."

"We've been having problems conceiving," Artie explained.

"Well," Mercedes answered, "I'm sorry to hear that. But you really need to have a plan for how you're going to address it when it finally does happen. People are a lot more liberal now than when we were in high school, but it's definitely going to become an issue with some people. The public will judge you by how you react."

"Did you have any suggestions?" Quinn asked.

"Yes," Mercedes said, pausing before continuing, "but you aren't going to want to do it."

"What's that?" Artie added.

"Announce that you're officially together," she answered. "That would defuse the whole thing."

"Except that we aren't!" Quinn responded. "We've been through this."

"I know we have," Mercedes answered. "But the fact is you guys act like you're more than friend a lot, and people are starting to catch on. Having a child with someone you aren't married to, or at least dating, just isn't something that many people do in our society unless they are being a surrogate-"

"-But," Quinn interrupted.

Mercedes held up her hand to silence her friend.

"You asked me my opinion," she told them, "and I'm giving it to you. I love you guys, and will support you no matter what you decide. As you said, you don't need to make a decision yet. Just think about it, okay?"

Quinn and Artie turned their heads as if silently asking the other what they thought.

"Okay," Quinn said.

"We'll think about it," Artie added.

"Good," Mercedes responded.

Just then the cook arrived and told them that dinner was ready. The three of them moved into the dining room for their meal. Their dinner conversation was much lighter, and consisted mostly about Mercedes latest album, and her husband Michael who was off touring. They also discussed Artie's award and the film he was working on, but avoided the topic of the character of Donna, and the recent drama associated with it.

By about 9 PM, Quinn and Artie excused themselves for the evening. They had to get up early to pick up Quinn's sister Franny at the airport as she was flying in the next day.

After more hugs at the door, Quinn and Artie drove home in relative silence, each reflecting on the exhausting day. They both were asleep shortly after their heads hit the pillow.

# # # # #

Author's Endnote: So what does everyone think? Please let me know weather you like what you're reading and weather you think it should continue by leaving me a review. It keeps me motivated, and the more motivated I am, the faster I am able to get a story updated. Thanks!


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